Kyo Kara Maoh GO!
by Offin
Summary: Yuuri has become addicted to playing "Pokemon Go!" Conrad tries to get closer to Yuuri by learning more about the game. Meanwhile, Murata schemes, Jose fan-boys and Shori disapproves. ConYuu Conrad x Yuuri KKM
1. Chapter 1

So, this story is literally the nerdiest thing ever- lately I've been addicted to playing _Pokémon GO!_ thus this story was born.

It's basically for my own amusement lol

Shout out to BlackLadybug225! Thanks for all the reviews and kind words. :)

* * *

Yuuri wasn't much of a video game person- he considered himself more of an outdoors-man unlike his hermit and game-addicted older brother, Shouri.

However, lately he'd been playing a game that had been taking Japan by storm:

 _Pokémon GO!_

Suddenly- it didn't matter if a person was an outdoors man, hermit, old, young, 'Otaku' or business man, they were playing _Pokémon GO!_ : a game of virtual reality Pokémon hunting.

Hell, even his mother was playing it.

Since Yuuri usually biked to school- his friend Murata heavily pressured Yuuri to play it, nagging him day in and day out even going so far as to give Yuuri his old smart phone so they could play together.

It's not like Yuuri was a stranger to Pokémon- he and Shouri had played some of the games when they were kids not to mention everyone knew about the famous T.V. show. He could faintly recall a time where he and Shouri had even pretended to be trainers- so this new Pokémon game did bring him some nostalgia...

So, when Yuuri finally gave in to the hype, he figured it'd be more fun if Shouri played with them too and asked his brother to join them.

However, he was bewildered when his older brother flatly turned him down.

 _"I don't have time for a game like that, Yuu-chan."_ he'd said, _"You should focus more on your studies."_

Pssshhhhhh studies? Yeah right! He was drowning in school work, not to mention his responsibilities as Maoh. His studies were the last thing Yuuri wanted to think about.

So he brushed it off- perhaps Shouri was just stressed. It didn't matter anyway- within a week, (Shouri or not) Yuuri was hooked.

Suddenly, every day was filled with Pokemon hunts and battles as he and Murata traversed Shibuya crossing past Hachiko's statue **[1]** down into the subway and all throughout the neighborhoods beyond.

When they reached level 5 the game asked the boys to join a team: **Mystic** (wisdom/blue), **Valor** (strength/red) or **Instinct** (Instinct/yellow)

Without thinking much, Yuuri chose Instinct.

The guy- Sparky? (Weird name but whatever...) seemed cool and Yuuri liked the idea of going with your gut- Yuuri often followed his instincts already as a way of life.

However, he was a little disappointed to learn that Murata had chosen a different team: Mystic.

"Heyyyy I thought you were gunna wait to choose a team so we could choose together." Yuuri complained but Murata only laughed.

"Then why'd you go ahead and choose team Instinct?" the boy criticized in return. "Valor and Mystic seem cool but Instinct..."

"HEY- I like it- I follow my gut a lot, it makes sense." Yuuri defended.

"We know- that's how you usually get into trouble..."

Because of their separate teams they couldn't battle gyms together but that didn't stop the boys from having fun collecting Pokémon.

Well...

At least until they went hiking to hatch some eggs they had saved up.

On their trip, Yuuri had tried to jump over a puddle but failed spectacularly, throwing him off-balance.

The only thing within grasp to steady himself was Murata who's eyes widened in surprise when Yuuri grabbed his shirt, dragging him down as they both fell into the void.

They were transported to Shin Makoku within a matter of wet, bubbly moments.

"Pwah!" Yuuri gasped as he broke the surface of the pond he'd been gracefully deposited in by the all mighty 'Great One'

"Uaahhh pond water-! Pbt! pbt! pbt..!" he spat as Murata gurgled to the surface next to him.

"Is it too much to ask for a warning before hand?" Yuuri shouted, "Like- _"TENKYUU-!?"_ **[2]**

Murata's sudden laughter was followed by coughing as he sucked in water unexpectedly- causing both boys to sit on the bank and spit repeatedly into the sand.

 _"Yuuri!"_

"Your knight is here." Murata remarked and Yuuri chuckled, a bit embarrassed at the remark.

"Conrad!" he waved, signaling the man to their location. "We're over here-"

"Are you alright?" the man, Yuuri's godfather and closest subject said as he dropped down from his horse and made his way to the boy's side.

"Yeah, we're fine- do you know why we ended up in a pond this time? Usually we end up in the fountain in Shinou's temple..."

Conrad smiled but shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't know much about how your travel between worlds works."

Yuuri could see Gunter frantically dismounting and shouting his name as Conrad handed him and Murata towels.

"I'm back~" Yuuri sighed and Conrad smiled down at him, gently picking wet leaves from Yuuri's hair.

"Welcome home."

* * *

[1] Hachiko's Statue and Shibuya's crossing are virtually right next to each other in Tokyo- Shibuya crossing is the famous busy street where sometimes thousands of people cross the street at a time in- and Hachiko is the famous Shiba Inu who was loyal to his master and because of his loyalty virtually saved his breed (of dog).

[2] Tenkyuu translates roughly into 'Rain from a cloudless Sky' or 'Magic Rain'


	2. Chapter 2

It had been 3 days since Yuuri had made it back to Shin Makoku and while he was thankful his phone wasn't badly damaged by the trip between worlds- he was bummed out about Shin Makoku's lack of cellular data.

He was seriously missing the easy distraction of playing Pokémon Go right now.

 _"Uaaahhhh.."_ he sighed for the eighth time in three minutes causing Gwendal to angrily clear his throat.

"If you're not going to get any work done can you at least stop sighing so I can complete mine?" the man grumbled and Yuuri flushed, embarrassed as he picked up his quill and got back to work. "Hai.. sorry- sorry- I'm just bored, I guess..."

"Hn." was the only response Yuuri got to that- so he focused again on the papers in front of him.

However, it didn't take long before Yuuri's mind began to wander and his hand followed. Before long he was doodling pictures Pokémon on a piece of scrap parchment instead of going over important documents about Shin Makoku's agriculture plan for this summer.

Yuuri was so engrossed in his doodles that when the door to the study opened and closed- he didn't notice.

Gwendal hadn't moved an inch- so when Wolfram's breath landed over his shoulder Yuuri audibly gasped in shock.

"What are _those?_ "

"Wolfram!" Yuuri groaned, holding a hand to his chest, "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Are those animals from Earth?" Wolfram ignored Yuuri, picking the paper up to inspect the drawings closer. "They're weird looking but it's probably because you can't draw." the blonde teased as Gwendal let out a grumble of disapproval.

The General had thought the young king was actually getting work done when his quill had been busy- now he knew the boy had only been drawing.

When would their king _finally_ take on the responsibility he had vowed to?

"I'll return shortly." the older Mazoku grumbled, leaving the two alone in the study, he needed a break and couldn't be bothered to listen to them bicker.

"Wolfram-!" Yuuri growled once Gwendal had left the room. "Great, now Gwendal thinks I'm a slacker!" he huffed, resting his head in his hands.

"So? You _are_ a slacker." the blonde said simply- no remorse in his angelic voice. "... and a wimp."

"Don't call me that." Yuuri grumbled as he reached to take the Pokemon doodles back from the blonde.

"Are they animals?" Wolfram asked again, letting Yuuri take the paper as the teen made room on the desk so he could sit while facing his fiance.

"Kind of- they're..." Yuuri's brain suddenly stuttered to a halt-

No- he was **not** going to explain Pokémon to Wolfram- the other boy couldn't even understand Baseball for crying out loud, there was no way he'd understand or remotely appreciate Pokémon.

Instead, Yuuri would probably be teased about it for the rest of eternity from the ex-prince.

"They're just animals." he grumbled, "Just- I draw them different I guess."

"Hm." Wolfram shrugged at that. "They're cute- I bet Gwendal would actually like these if you drew them on a card or something for him- maybe from Greta." he smiled.

"Yeah..." Yuuri's mind wandered- what if he lived in an alternate universe where Wolfram _would_ like Pokémon? Which one would be his favorite?

This question made Yuuri curious.

"Do you like any of them?" Yuuri gestured to the drawings.

Wolfram gave Yuuri a weird look but inspected the pictures again anyway. "I like this one- he looks a bit like Reginald."

"Pochi-! His name isn't Reginald!" Yuuri reminded the teen in regards to the blue dragon Yuuri had befriended in Shin Makoku a while back.

"You're right- he looks a little like Pochi." probably because Yuuri's doodles were all black and white- but the Pokemon Wolfram had pointed out was Charmander and Yuuri thought it was fitting that Wolfram had chose a fire-type Pokemon.

"What's his name?" Wolfram asked and Yuuri stopped to think-

"Err... Hamilton...?" **[3]**

* * *

"It's driving me crazy!" Yuuri groaned as he made his way to the courtyard with Murata in tow. "It's your fault for getting me addicted so don't laugh!"

But laugh he did as Murata followed close behind, his hands in his pockets and an easy smile on his lips.

"We'll be back on Earth soon, since time passes quickly here and slowly there we won't be really behind on anything so don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried about being behind I'm worried about how I'm going to survive the next few weeks without playing- I can't focus on anything lately."

Murata shrugged. "Maybe you should talk to someone."

"I'm talking to you aren't I?" Yuuri rolled his eyes.

"Well- someone else who doesn't know about it- so you can share your excitement over it and maybe it'll help you feel better." That sounded like a terrible idea to Yuuri- who didn't bother to reply to it as he watched the guards ready a horse for Murata to ride with Gunter.

"How long will you be this time?" he asked as Murata gave a weary smile.

"I dunno, but the shrine isn't far away."

"That's true..."

It wasn't like Murata was going to another country or anything- Hell, Yuuri could see the shrine on a clear day from his bedroom window it's just... Murata was the only one who knew what Pokémon Go was and without him here to vent Yuuri thought he might go insane.

Damn Murata for getting him so addicted to a stupid game.

"Ulrike said she needed my help- you know? Can't keep her waiting. I'm sure everything will be fine. In the meantime play some baseball or play with Greta, it'll help you get your mind off of Pokémon." he laughed. "We'll be back in Japan catching Magikarp before you know it." Yuuri let out a chuckle as he waved his friend off, it was silly how stressed he was getting over something as simple as Pokémon but... he hadn't played a game like it in a very long time and had truly been enjoying himself.

He supposed he was just being spoiled.

Gunter and Murata rode in tandem until Yuuri couldn't see them anymore when he heard a pair of boots approaching on the gravel behind him.

"Hello _Yuu-ri._ " he heard the smooth voice of his friend- causing Yuuri's lips to pull into a smile before he turned to face the man.

"Hey Conrad." He said as he inspected his knight from head-to-toe. He was wearing his signature tan uniform pristine as always, a light grin was on his face.

"You seem a little down. Is it because Geika left?"

"Sort of," Yuuri shrugged. "Hey- do you think Gwendal will kill me if you and I go play a few rounds of baseball in the field today?"

"Not at all." Conrad laughed, failing to mention that Gwendal would kill _him_ not Yuuri, but he would deal with that later.

* * *

[3] from a YouTube video by Our Epic Life" where a 91 year old Grandma is asked to guess the names of Pokemon and she names Charmander "Hamilton."


	3. Chapter 3

_Swish,_ _ **tak**_ _, swish,_ _ **tak.**_

There was an easy silence between the two men as they played catch- Yuuri's mind was wandering heavily and Conrad allowed this- knowing his charge would come around eventually.

Deep in the world of Pokémon, Yuuri thought about Gwendal.

If Gwendal was a Pokémon, which Pokémon would he be? Or if he was a trainer- which ones would he like?

If Gwendal was a Pokémon... Yuuri thought he'd be Onyx: large, rocky and an Earth-type... but if Gwendal was a trainer- ha!

He'd probably own all the cutest Pokémon.

If Wolfram was a Pokémon- perhaps he'd be Ninetails- a strong, regal-looking fire-type Pokémon.

Or maybe he'd be Tepig- y'know.. because Yuuri thought it was hilarious to compare Wolfram to a pig, and Tepig is, well, kind of annoying.

If Wolf was a trainer, he'd probably own all the strongest fire-type Pokémon and boast about them all the time- just to get easily beaten by someone with water-type Pokémon, like himself.

What about Anissina?

Yuuri almost laughed aloud when he pictured her as an Arbok- though he also thought she would match up well as the character Jessie from Team Rocket. He liked to think Gwendal would agree.

Hmm... and Murata?

Yuuri knew Murata liked Psychic and Dark-type Pokémon and if Murata was a Pokémon he'd probably be something like an Espeon...

Though, perhaps Espeon was giving Murata too much credit- instead he'd probably be a Ditto. Yuuri thought this was hilarious, his snickering wasn't lost on Conrad who could only wonder what his king thought was so funny.

Finally- Yuuri's eyes focused on the real world and caught sight of Conrad smiling at him.

 _What about his knight?_

Yuuri thought long and hard and all he could guess was that if Conrad was a Pokémon- he'd have to be legendary, shiny, rare- or all of the above.

He would be loyal, strong, brave, undefeatable, amazing and probably the best Pokémon of all time.

What Pokémon that was- Yuuri had no idea. After all, he wasn't _that_ versed in the Pokémon world.

But if Conrad was a trainer... hmmm... Conrad would probably take training his Pokémon just as seriously as he takes training his men and would be an awesome trainer and own all the coolest, strongest Pokémon and they'd probably all be super loyal to him too.

Alright, dammit- this was ridiculous.

He really had to talk about Pokémon with someone. Conrad might understand- right? After all he'd been to Earth before, perhaps he's heard of Pokémon...?

"Hey Conrad... have you ever heard of _Pokémon_?" Yuuri asked hesitantly, throwing the ball in a perfect arch.

"Pokémon?" Conrad echoed, thinking long and hard- Yuuri could tell he was digging through his memories, trying to find what Yuuri had mentioned.

"Hmmm... is that... the little yellow guy..." Conrad grinned- he couldn't remember much about it except roughly what it looked like. "It uses electricity to shock people and has big red circles on its face..."

Yuuri's eyes lit up, "Pikachu! Yeah- I think you mean Pikachu right?!"

Conrad's grin looked happy but still lost as he nodded his head. "I think so...? He lives in a ball that's red and white?"

"Yeah! A _Poké-ball_ , so you have heard of it!"

Yuuri seemed very excited and Conrad couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Although he knew that 'Pikachu' virtually existed he really didn't know much else about Pokémon and Yuuri looked like he was about to go off into a very long-winded rant about the subject.

"Yeah! So, it's basically a video game and also a card game and it has some movies about it and a T.V. show- but there's these monsters that people collect in Pokéballs and then they train them to fight each other to see who can be the best- and it's got a lot to do with friendship too... remember?"

Conrad tossed the ball back, "Actually, Yuuri I hate to disappoint you, but I don't know much at all about Pokémon..." he said sheepishly, "I only remember it because when I visited Earth the T.V. show was brand new and Jose watched it all the time and tried to get me into it- but he was into a lot of toys and games at the time and I mostly ignored him..." Conrad scratched his head.

"Jose told me it'd be of use to memorize things like "Pokémon," "Star Wars" and "Batman" because he said you'd probably know about them when you grew up- but I brushed him off... I truly didn't think those things would be handy when I finally got to meet you. Instead I studied Earth's history and Japanese language so that when I met you I could help you adjust to our world."

Yuuri's face couldn't get any redder- Conrad had studied such things _just for him?_ So when he grew up they'd have things to talk about...?

Well... he supposed it made sense, and he was thankful- truly.

When he first came to Shin Makoku having Conrad to talk to about baseball grounded him and made him feel a lot better about dealing with so many new things all at once.

He was glad the man had been chosen for the job, he got along really well with Conrad.

He'd say that he _'couldn't picture life without him'_ but Yuuri had once suffered life without Conrad and knew **exactly** how much it had sucked.

Never again-! His baseball buddy wasn't going anywhere, Yuuri made sure of it by making Conrad promise him to stay.

"It's okay Conrad," Yuuri grinned, "That makes sense- I'm really glad you at least have heard of it. They have a new game out for it and I've been pretty addicted lately- so I guess I just wanted to vent about it to someone."

Conrad laughed, catching the ball before taking off his glove, "Vent away," he said as he lead Yuuri to the dug out, "I'd love to hear all about it."


	4. Chapter 4

Conrad should have listened to Jose when the man had told him to study Pokémon.

Yuuri didn't just know about Pokémon; he was... well-read.

It had been a full day since he and Yuuri had sat down and the boy had described all that he knew about Pokémon.

Yuuri had explained the different types of Pokémon and how fire-type Pokémon are weak against water-type Pokémon and how they evolve into larger Pokémon and how Pokémon gyms and badges worked and Conrad, however open-minded he was, still felt pretty lost as he tried his very best to retain all the information Yuuri had given him.

As he filled out progress reports for his trainees, Conrad tried to repeat the information in his head:

 _'Diddo can take the form of other Pokémon... Meow is a rare Pokémon... Charm-commander... wait- Charm-man? Evolves into... Charm-master?'_

Conrad rubbed his temples.

"What about Peekachoo...?" He muttered, casually trying to draw what he remembered Pikachu to look like."He had pointy ears and a... hm... that doesn't look right."

20 years had done some damage to Conrad's memories. His drawing of poor Pikachu looked like one of Gwendal's stress-knitted creations only miraculously worse.

 _'Wolfram would probably be much better at drawing this...'_ Conrad thought to himself as he sighed in defeat.

Why was he trying to memorize Pokémon so desperately...?

Well, if he had to admit it- he would only admit it to himself: he loved the look on Yuuri's face when he understood Earth's references.

Yuuri truly lit up when Conrad could relate to him about anything from his birth-world. However selfish it may sound... he honestly loved being the only one (besides Geika...) that understood and connected with Yuuri about Earth.

It made him feel... somewhat special.

They shared baseball and jokes about America and memories of roller-coasters, television and instant noodles.

Conrad just hoped that would never change- that Yuuri wouldn't, couldn't somehow replace him with another 'baseball buddy'.

Just the thought of it made him feel, on-edge, nervous... scared. Feelings that usually didn't affect him, feelings that even went beyond these... He truly was hopeless- wasn't he... just as bad as Gunter.

With that thought in mind, Conrad finished up his paperwork and decided to visit Geika at the shrine. He had a request to make- something that had been on his mind for a while... since Yuuri had first set foot in this world.

* * *

 _"That's an odd... rather selfish request..."_

The smooth, ethereal voice echoed off the private chambers within Shinou's Temple.

In the center of the room, the head priestess Ulrike was deep in meditation as she lent her power to The Great One so Conrad could address the departed king.

Shinou's soul was visible in full-form as he floated casually about, turning Conrad's expression sour with how relaxed he appeared to be.

Murata, (The Great Sage) sat on _The End of The Wind_ and listened- playing the role of referee between the two.

"You've asked plenty of odd requests of me." Conrad said in return, from his kneeling position on the floor. "I have never requested anything of you."

 _"You're not in a position to request anything from me- ex-prince."_

Conrad's eyes narrowed and Geika tsk'd- waving a hand.

"Hey now, actually that's quite the opposite. Lord Weller has been nothing but obliging, even though things went awry in the past, that was our fault- mostly _your fault_ \- not his."

 _"How is_ _ **Soshou**_ _my fault?"_ Shinou said in astonishment- which only received a reserved look from Ken.

"Regardless, it's certainly not because of Lord Weller that things went the way they did. In fact- you owe him for quite a lot."

 _"I don't_ _ **owe**_ _anyone especially not the Weller family. This nation owes me for creating it. I sacrificed my life-"_

"Just because a parent creates a child doesn't mean the child has to be thankful for the life it's been given." Ken said softly, locking eyes with Conrad.

 _"I suppose not, but what rotten child isn't thankful?"_ Shinou snapped.

"Pardon." Conrad cut in, standing slowly- his knees had begun to ache from the marble floor.

"About my request... Have you reached a conclusion?"

 _"...What of his Majesty- do you intend to inform him?"_

"About my absence? I'll let him know I'm departing on a mission but I'd like to keep the destination to myself."

 _"And your duties at the castle?"_ Shinou asked, wagging a finger at Conrad- hoping to trap him into feeling guilty about all the work he'd leave piling up.

"Do you know what my duties at the castle are?" Conrad asked, raising a thin, scarred brow at The Great One.

 _"No. Perhaps it's some sort of soldier-business..."_ Shinou smirked, too lazy and disinterested to truly care.

"Then it doesn't concern you."

Shinou's eyes widened- his mouth immediately snapping open to spit out a retort when he was cut-off by The Great Sage's loud, cheerful laughter.

"Ahahahaha!" The teenager carried on, his laughter reverberating off of the large chamber walls, causing Shinou to recoil into himself in aggravation.

"Your request is granted, Lord Weller." the Great Sage said, a cheerful, yet knowing smile on his face.

"Use your time wisely- there's a lot you need to learn." He said as Shinou only watched, arms crossed sitting on nothing but air. "And if you don't make it quick- Yuuri will certainly begin to question where you are."

Conrad nodded, a thin smile spread on his face as he bowed to The Great Sage, ignoring Shinou completely.

"Thank you, I shall."


	5. Chapter 5

_"Auughhhh again?!"_

Yuuri groaned, thumping his forehead on the heavy oak desk before him. "Are you serious? _Pleaseeee_ tell me you can take me with you..."

But Yuuri's down-trodden face was met only with Conrad's apologetic eyes and small smile.

"How long will it be?"

"Not terribly long." Conrad said softly,

"Where are you going?"

"Not far."

"Who's going with you? Yozak?"

"Just myself."

"When, like... today?"

"Yes, tonight."

"Conrad you can't do this to me!" Yuuri cried, throwing his arms out in frustration, knocking several papers off his desk; forcing Conrad to hide a chuckle behind a closed fist.

"Murata left me, I'm drowning in paper work, Anissina gave Gwendal some weird potion that made his hands swell up so he can't sign anything, Gunter won't leave me alone and is making me learn history- _WHILE I'M SIGNING PAPERS._ On top of that, I've gotten nothing but sad puppy-dog eyes from Greta all day because she wants me to go play with her and I can't, Wolfram won't stop calling me a bad parent and eating the snacks Effe made for me and you know what's the absolute worst thing of all?"

"What could that be?" Conrad questioned- starting to feel the tiniest bit of guilt for leaving Yuuri when he seemed to be in such distress.

"I haven't even seen you for a full week and now you have to go on a mission and you're leaving TONIGHT." Yuuri complained, slumping back in his chair.

There was only silence between the two men when Yuuri cracked a smile.

"I must sound like a ridiculous spoiled brat right now, huh?"

Conrad's silent, charming grin was all the man offered as a reply.

"I don't know how Wolfram does it so well- alright, you win! Leave me alone in my misery." Yuuri sighed in defeat.

"Would you like Yozak for company, Majesty?" Conrad teased and Yuuri stuck his tongue out at his knight.

"It's Yuuri- **Lord Weller.** "

"Hai, _Yuuu-ri_."

" _Pleeassseeee_ come back soon okay? I don't know how long Shinou's gunna keep me in Shin Makoku this time. I know I can choose to come and go between worlds whenever I please but sometimes he still forces me to leave, you know? I don't want to go back to Earth before you get back."

Conrad's heart was melting. Yuuri spoke so honestly to him that he found it hard to look his god-son in the eyes.

"I wouldn't want to miss seeing you before then either." He smiled gently, picking up Yuuri's ink-stained hand in his tanned one.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they gave each other warm smiles. Perhaps Conrad thought the moment was too warm, **[4]** because he opened his mouth and said:

 _"Arumi kan kan no ue ue ni aru mikan."_ **[5]**

 _"Seriously? Conrad?"_ Yuuri cringed, trying to pull his hand away but the man wouldn't release it, "There's no cans or fruit in here! You're such an old man!" **[6]**

"Ahh, I just thought that if you should start missing me, I would give you a reason to remain patient."

"Ah, I see... now I won't want you to return quickly, because you might make me freeze to death!"

Conrad's clear laughter filled the room, and despite the chill of the pun, warmed Yuuri's heart once more.

However, the joke was on Conrad, because no matter how many horrible puns may come of it, Yuuri still wanted his knight to return as soon as possible.

When Conrad was gone, Yuuri missed moments like these terribly. 

* * *

[4] the standard Japanese response to oyaji gyagu (old-man joke/dad jokes/pun) is to note how cold the room has suddenly become.

[5] "Arumi kan kan no ue ue ni aru mikan." is a Japanese pun which literally translated to: "An orange on an aluminium can.." it's a very common and very lame pun. Conrad says it here completely out of context to make Yuuri cringe.

[6] Yuuri calls Conrad an old man because typically such horrible puns in Japan only old men think are funny. (Same goes for the USA- we call them 'dad jokes' lol)


	6. Chapter 6

Two whole months had passed since then.

In the end, Conrad hadn't made it back in time to see Yuuri before the teen was whisked away to Earth once more. Yuuri was disappointed that he'd missed so much time with his favorite baseball buddy- but he was glad to be back in Japan where there was...

CELLULAR DATA!

Yes! His long wait was finally over-! Yuuri knew it immediately as they resurfaced in the bathtub of his childhood home- he didn't even wait until Murata had surfaced before dragging himself out of the tub and running to the hair-dryer to start CPR on his water-logged phone.

"Ahh, can you get mine too?" Ken said, tossing his phone on the bath-mat at Yuuri's feet. "We really should invest in water-proof cases now that we carry our phones so much, huh?"

"Yeah, if I had known I would have wrapped it in plastic or something- but you know.. Shinmakoku is a little behind on the technology department."

"Haha, yeah..." Murata groaned as he dragged himself out of the tub, carefully peeling off layers of drenched clothing.

"Hey, you're dripping everywhere." he said to Yuuri, who had done nothing to address his soaked clothing.

"Here- you take over then." Yuuri handed his friend the hair-dryer as he began to strip down as well.

Yuuri then wrapped a towel around his waist as he entered the hallway leading to his room and listened.

Nothing.

Other than the sound of the blow-dryer, the house was quiet.

"I guess no one's home." he said to himself as he went to his room to fetch dry clothes for them both.

Within an hour both boys were clothed, their phones dry as they headed out the door for a walk around the block intent on playing their first round of _Pokémon Go!_ since they had been dragged back from the demon world.

"Since we left only 6 days have passed- not too bad." Ken said, as Yuuri shuffled along. "I still find it weird- but I have to admit it's super convenient."

"Convenient how?" Yuuri questioned absently.

"Really, Shibuya? Can you imagine what it'd be like for your family or school- if you went to the demon world for 6 months and you were gone from Earth the whole time? You'd never graduate, your family would miss you, it'd honestly suck a lot for the both of us. There's no way I would be able to hide my role in the demon world from my parents."

" _Haaa~_ I guess that's true, I never really thought of it like that." Yuuri admitted, rubbing his neck. "It makes it hard for Shin Makoku though..."

"Yeah- when we're gone only a week on Earth, it equals months in Shin Makoku. Thankfully you have a strong head-of-state to keep things afloat while you're away."

"You mean a _head-strong head of state_." Yuuri snickered to himself. "But you're right- I think without them it'd definitely be in a mess."

"That reminds me, Shibuya- about Lord Weller, you said he left for a trip right?"

"Hm? Oh yeah... Conrad left a while ago to go on some mission- he left right after you did."

"Oh- so you mean when I left to the temple he left for his mission? What kind of mission is it?"

"I don't know- no one's talking about it, Conrad said it's personal. He's just got some stuff to do I guess..."

"You mean like soul searching?" Ken asked, as they rounded a corner nearing a convenience store.

"I guess- he really wouldn't say... though if I had to guess maybe he got a princess pregnant somewhere and he's going to work things out with her family."

"What!?" Ken laughed, "That's not usually something you'd say about your knight- what makes you think that?"

" _I'm joking,_ Murata." Yuuri said, rolling his eyes. "Conrad isn't like that..."

However, the odd, unsure way Yuuri trailed off made Ken's eyebrows raise. "Are you worried about it?"

"Huh? Oh, no... he's a pretty capable guy you know? I was just wondering why he doesn't have a partner... Like a g-girlfriend or something..."

"Oh," Ken shrugged, motioning at the convenience store, steering them both to go inside in search for drinks and snacks to aid them on their journey.

"How do you know he doesn't have a girlfriend somewhere?" Ken asked, as Yuuri picked a drink out of one of the many coolers.

"He doesn't have the time. I've asked him about it before and he said the person he's in love with isn't available. So he's already in love with someone who isn't able to love him back."

" _Really?_ He told you that?" Ken sounded surprised. They stood patiently in line and Yuuri shrugged.

Ken could tell Yuuri really didn't enjoy this subject.

"Yeah... I asked him who it was and he said he couldn't tell me but that it was someone I knew. Like, who the heck could that be? You know? _Who do I know that Conrad would be in love with_...?"

"I'm guessing you've thought a lot about this."

"Not really..." Yuuri shrugged, though he could feel his ears burning with embarrassment. "I just can't figure it out, that's all..."

"Maybe it's Yozak." Murata laughed- expecting Yuuri to joke along with him, but instead he was met with a strange look from his friend.

Yuuri looked sort of angry, jealous even?

But before he could comment on it- it was their turn to pay.

By the time the boys made it outside with their snacks the moment had passed and it felt odd to Ken to bring it up again so he let it be.

Whatever his friend was feeling or thinking, Ken knew it would surface eventually and decided to focus on the game instead.

It wasn't long before both boys were immersed. Yuuri's enthusiasm for the game spurred them both far beyond their normal limits of exploration even going so far as to catch a train further into the city to hit up Poké-stops.

By the time they were done it was late into the evening and the boys stopped at a ramen noodle stand near the train station to relax and catch dinner.

They chatted aimlessly as they both went through their inventory and surveyed the different kinds of Pokémon they had caught that day, comparing power levels and lamenting how many more 'Pokémon candy' they needed to evolve them.

The atmosphere was warm and comfortable and Yuuri felt very relaxed- he was thoroughly enjoying his time spent with Murata after such a long time spent in Shin Makoku.

School would start tomorrow- but for now, the boys could ignore their responsibilities without headache.

"The train will be here in a minute, we should pack up." Yuuri said, stretching happily as Murata hummed in agreement.

Standing at the platform, waiting for the train- Murata busied himself with his phone as Yuuri watched the people around him- it was almost eight o'clock and the people bustling onto the trains looked tired and worn.

When the time came, they made their way onto the train and sat down, it was emptier than usual, being a weekend at this hour, thankfully giving everyone some space to breathe.

Looking down the row of seats, Yuuri felt a tingling sensation in his conscious. It was always hard to describe and if prompted to, Yuuri probably wouldn't know how to explain it... but he knew it well.

 _Conrad._

Yuuri could sense Conrad, but the feeling (which usually made Yuuri happy) now only made him feel extremely anxious, causing his breath to shorten.

Yuuri had **never** felt Conrad's presence when he was on Earth- never, ever.

The only time(s) he could sense the other was when they were in the same world.

"Murata, I think something's wrong." Yuuri whispered urgently to his friend, nudging him. "I think Conrad's in trouble."

Ken's eyes met his with surprise. "What? How can you tell?"

"I just can, you know? Sometimes I can tell when he's nearby... but for some reason I'm sensing him now and I can just tell something's wrong."

"Er..." Ken said, looking around the sparsely filled train car. "We can't go to Shin Makoku right now... Not here... and we're not rested enough to initiate a journey on our own."

"I don't care how rested I am- we have to go, now!" Yuuri whispered, his voice trembling as worry knit his brow. "I think he's in danger-"

Murata looked his friend in the eyes, trying to judge just how serious Yuuri was and if he could talk his friend out of this.

Out of the corner of Ken's eye, he caught sight of a tall stranger wearing a red and white hat, a blazer, leather messenger bag and blue jeans.

The curve of his form was immediately familiar causing Murata to focus full-force on persuading Yuuri to change his mind.

"Hold on Yuuri... let's just wait- okay? I don't think Lord Weller's in any trouble. You're probably just imagining it..."

"I've never felt him here on Earth," Yuuri blurted out and Ken shook his head.

"That doesn't mean it's a bad thing..."

The tall stranger must have noticed Ken, too- because the very next stop he quickly departed, leaving Ken to shake his head.

Meanwhile, Yuuri sat in silence, his eyes closed in concentration.

He was trying to feel Conrad's presence, but the more he focused the further the feeling seemed to fade. Within a few minutes of the train silently rumbling along Yuuri let out a frustrated sigh.

"I... I can't sense him anymore." Yuuri said sadly as they neared their stop. "What do you think it _means?_ "

"Perhaps Lord Weller was just thinking of you?" Ken said with a small smile and worried eyes.

"Maybe..."

"Don't worry, Shibuya- I'll go to Shin Makoku tonight when I get home and check on things- okay?"

"Why can't I go?" Yuuri snapped and Ken held his hands up in defense as the train slowed, pulling into the station.

"Do you really want to get stuck in Shin Makoku for another two months if it turns out to be nothing? They'll let me leave again right away- but they probably won't let you go so easily."

"Auughhhh... You're right..." Yuuri groaned. "Fine... but if it's nothing text me as soon as you get back and let me know."

"I will." Ken smiled as they stood and exited the train.

"Well, this is where we part ways," Ken announced as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, reminding Yuuri that this was the easiest way for him to walk home.

"Alright... text me when you're about to go to the other world."

"I'll go as soon as I get home." Ken promised and Yuuri watched him go- waving his friend off before he took a deep breath and began walking home.

 _'I hope it's nothing...'_ Yuuri thought to himself, as he dug his hands into his pockets. _'He's always there for me when I'm in trouble... I'd hate for him to need me only to find I'm not there.'_

After walking several blocks, Yuuri saw his house in the distance. He'd been so engrossed in his thoughts about Conrad he hadn't even turned his phone on to log all of the steps he'd walked. He didn't feel much in the mood.

However, upon opening the door, he was greeted with warmth and the sight of his mother and father eating dinner at the kitchen table.

"Yuu-chan!" his mother gasped, standing up with excitement and coming over to hug her son. "I saw your clothes in the bathroom and thought you'd come back, where were you all day?"

"Ahh, sorry mom.. I was with Murata."

"You look so blue! What's the matter? Did something happen?"

Yuuri laughed nervously as he took his shoes off and joined his father at the table. "No-nothing! I'm fine... where's Shouri?"

"He's out with friends tonight." his father said, casually reading a book as he ate. Yuuri wrinkled his nose.

"Friends? Shouri has friends?"

"Yuu-chan! That's mean, Shou-chan has lots of friends."

Yuuri only grinned, rolling his eyes. Yeah right! Shouri was probably out getting another girly dating game or something and just didn't want their parents to know.

"Are you hungry?" his mother asked and Yuuri flushed, a bit embarrassed, "Ahh, sorry mom! I actually ate with Murata... we stopped at a ramen shop. We played Pokémon all day." he laughed and his mother's face lit up.

"Ooooh me too! I went grocery shopping earlier and caught a really cute one!" she said, pulling out her phone to show her son. "Ohh, yeah that's Evee." Yuuri smiled and Shouma sighed.

"Geeze, am I the only one not playing this game?" he said, shaking his head at his wife and son. "Everyone in the office plays it too..."


	7. Chapter 7

It was late when the door to Jose's hotel room opened, spilling light into the dimly lit space.

"Wow, you're back late." Jose said cheerfully, the smell of cheap mac-and-cheese filling the air from where it was being preparing on the stove.

"Do you always cook in the dark?" a smooth voice answered as lights began to turn on around the room.

"Shouri was taking a nap." Jose said, just as the light nearest to the couch was turned on to reveal the sleeping teenager who groaned in response, burying his face into his pillow.

"Ah, hello Shou-chan." Conrad said happily making the man grumble angrily in turn.

"Do **not** call me that." he snapped. "...Did you find everything?"

Conrad chuckled as he set his leather bag down on the coffee table and pulled out a stack of various CD's.

"I believe so..." he cleared his throat as he read the titles aloud: " _'Red Lady's Mysterious Love Adventure!'_ and 'Pokémon: Seasons 1-3'... among others..."

Shouri just glared at Conrad, squinting through blurry eyes as he took his glasses off the side-table and placed them on his face.

"That one's mine." he said, snatching _'Red Lady's Mysterious Love Adventure!'_ out of Conrad's calloused fingers. "The rest are for you to watch... except the games. When I bring over Yuuri's old play station I'll have you play the games."

"Alright." Conrad said easily, removing his Red Sox baseball cap and his jacket before sitting at the table to read over the CD's himself.

"How much progress did you make today?" Jose joked as he poured Conrad a bowl of pasta. "Want some Shouri?" he asked, but the teen only shook his head.

"Well..." Conrad laughed, pulling out the 'smart phone' Jose had bought for him. "I caught a lot of Pokémon today- I think I broke the game because it wouldn't let me catch anymore."

"Hm? Your inventory is probably full- let me see?" Jose said as Conrad passed the phone to the other man while he inspected his dinner. "Okay so look here," he said, sliding the phone closer to Conrad. "You have to pick the weakest Pokémon and transfer them to Professor Willow, like this... see? Then you use the candy you get from transferring them to evolve your other stronger Pokémon. That way your bag won't be so full."

"Ah," Conrad nodded- taking the lesson seriously. "That makes sense... once I evolve them- then what do I do with them?"

"You battle gyms- but we'll get there later on."

"To be honest," Shouri's annoyed voice cut in from the couch, "I don't know why you're trying so hard... things change here on Earth all the time- there's no way you're always going to be up to date with what my little brother likes while you're away in that other world."

Conrad only smiled.

"I think it's a nice gesture... I told you he'd be into this kind of stuff. Remember?" Jose said and Conrad nodded in agreement. "Yes, I remember. I didn't take you seriously at all." he said causing the other man to laugh.

Shouri shook his head as he pulled out his laptop from his book bag and popped _'Red Lady's Mysterious Love Adventure!'_ into the CD drive. He planned on putting in ear buds and ignoring Conrad's presence for the rest of night.

"Tomorrow Shouri's going with you to Akihabara... Ahhhh~ I really wish I could go." Jose sighed, resting his chin in his hand. "But I've got work to do."

Conrad nodded, "Thank you, Jose... hopefully we can meet up in the states before I have to go back. I'm just very glad I got this chance to spend time in Japan." Jose smiled at his friend, Conrad had barely aged a day since he first met the man 20 years earlier. It was crazy to think about.

He hoped he'd get to see more of the brunette before he left, his demeanor was charming now and funny even- a far cry from the sullen, vacant husk of a man Conrad was upon his first visit to Earth.

"I saw Yuuri on the train today with Ken." Conrad said, and Jose smiled brightly. "I know! Ken called me and told me to scold you ahaha... he said Yuuri felt your presence and started panicking, thinking that you were in danger."

"Ahh, now I feel guilty." Conrad sighed. "I think he would just be embarrassed if he knew why I was here... I don't want him to know I'm doing this because it might make him feel awkward towards me."

"Honestly, you think too much." Jose said simply. "I don't think Yuuri would feel awkward.. well... perhaps embarrassed. But if you asked him I bet he'd show you himself."

"Mmm... I would like to surprise him. When he tells me next time- _'Conrad, do you remember Pac-Man?'_ I'll say: _'Waka waka waka!'_ and he'll definitely be impressed."

Jose's laughter was loud enough to startle Shouri who could hear it through his head phones. "Keep it down! You sound drunk!" Shouri snapped, pulling an earbud out. "I can hear you over my music...!"

"Ahhh- _that was amazing~_ " Jose laughed, leaning on the table for support. "Ahahahaha... he'll _definitely_ be impressed."

Conrad only smiled, apologizing to Shouri before turning his attention back to his pasta.

"Mmmm or he'll say: _'Conrad, do you like Superman?'_ and I'll say: _"Soup, I'm not a cannibal."_

The second round of deafening laughter made Shouri roll his eyes. He wasn't able to play in peace here.

"I'm heading out." he announced, standing up to gather his belongings. "Don't be late tomorrow I can't spend all day in Akihabara." Shouri warned and Conrad smiled cheerfully as he waved good-bye to the brooding man.

"Hai,[7] I won't be late."

By the time Shouri got home the house was dark, his parents were no doubt already asleep.

He plopped his shoes off and headed upstairs only to see light spilling out from beneath Yuuri's bedroom door.

Was Yuuri home?

"Yuu-chan?" He whispered softly, knocking lightly with one knuckle on his little brother's door. "Are you awake?"

After a moment of shuffling Yuuri cracked the door open. "Shouri? Mom and dad said you were out with friends."

"Yeah..." He said, looking down at his little brother's tired face. Even though it was dim in the hallway, Shouri could tell Yuuri looked worried and sad.

"Are you alright?" he asked upon instinct and saw his brother's eyes widen with shock before a nervous flush reached his cheeks. Behind him, Shouri could see Yuuri's phone sitting on the bed, brightly lit.

"Yeah I was waiting for Ken to text me. I think something bad happened in Shin Makoku so Ken went to the other world to check on things and told me he would text me when he got back."

"Bad like... what?"

"Er..." Yuuri's face flushed more. "I... I don't know... I just had a bad feeling..."

Shouri's eyes narrowed, "Is this about that guy?" he said, and Yuuri's face turned bright red. Yuuri knew exactly who _'that guy'_ was- Shouri never called Conrad by his name. He sounded like Wolfram when he would refer to Conrad as _'that man'_ or _'Weller'._

"W-what- No! It's about my kingdom..."

"Whatever... go to sleep. I'm sure it's fine and staying up won't solve anything."

"Y-yeah... okay good night."

"Are you actually going to sleep?" Shouri snapped and Yuuri huffed in annoyance.

"Yes! Now shoo, go to bed, Shouri!" Yuuri hissed, pushing his brother's shoulder with one hand.

He was tempted to tell his little brother that he was worrying over nothing- that, that stupid man was eating mac-and-cheese and making bad jokes in a hotel room less than a few miles away.

However, doing that would be admitting Yuuri was staying up late into the night staring at his phone, thinking and worrying about such a person.

It was better if Shouri simply believed Yuuri was worried about his kingdom- that was normal and didn't make him upset. He'd be able to sleep knowing his little brother was worried about being a good king, not about some guy with a stupid deceiving grin.

* * *

After Shouri was safely locked away within his room, Yuuri let out a sigh as he plopped back onto his bed to stare at his phone once again.

However water logged it had been- it still functioned for the first few days he'd been in Shin Makoku and had allowed the teenager (for the first time!) to capture pictures from the other world.

Pictures like Greta smiling, wearing flowers in her hair or some blurry pictures of Wolfram yelling at him about something-or-other... Pictures of the tall spiraling towers of the castle or cozy kitchens in the maid's quarters.

The best pictures though, were those he took of Conrad.

Before Conrad had left on his mission Yuuri had made it his goal to capture as many pictures as his phone would allow of the man. Why? Well... because Yuuri missed him when he was gone and seeing his smiling face made being apart from him easier.

Especially now that Yuuri was anxious about feeling the man's presence on Earth. While he desperately waited for Ken's text or call to tell him that Conrad was safe and everything was O.K. he eased his worried mind and distracted his aching heart by looking at the pictures he took.

It didn't take long for Yuuri to find his favorite- it was of Conrad sitting in the palace garden, watching Greta.

It had been only mere hours before Conrad had left for his mission- but he didn't seem to be worried or preparing himself. Instead- he'd been sitting on the lip of the garden fountain in a relaxed pose as he listened to Greta talk about everything from the book she'd read recently to the stuffed animal tea party she'd had with Gwendal that day, (to help make the man feel better about his swollen hands.)

In the picture, one of Conrad's long legs hung off the side of the fountain, resting on the ground. The other was curled underneath him, bent at the knee. He didn't have his jacket on and the sleeves of his white undershirt had been rolled up past his elbows.

The serene look on his face and the way his hair fell- the water behind him and the flowers around him...

He looked absolutely beautiful.

Yuuri blushed, mentally chiding himself for thinking such embarrassing thoughts but... alone in his room... he let his mind continue as he longingly looked over the picture again and again. He liked it so much Yuuri actually made it his phone's wallpaper, barely able to contain his nervous blush as he hoped that wouldn't back-fire on him later.

"You're really something Conrad..." he murmured to himself, turning his phone's screen off and laying it on his chest. "You better not be in trouble out there... I'll be so mad at you."

Yuuri knew, however, that was a lie. There was no anger in his heart towards the brunette soldier- only...

Only... something else...

 _'Damnit!'_ He thought, sitting up on the edge of his bed. _'I can't just sit here- I'm never gunna be able to fall asleep and I might just lose my mind waiting for Ken. He's probably already in Shin Makoku but it might take a full day before he comes back...'_ Yuuri sighed, eyeing his bedroom door.

He knew it was late, he knew he probably shouldn't... but perhaps... a simple walk around the block would clear his mind.

Yuuri looked out his bedroom window, it was dark and damp. He could see the street lights glistening off the wet pavement as the rain drizzled down like a light mist. You couldn't tell what a beautiful day it had been by looking at it now.

Determined and energized by the thought of taking a walk alone at night, Yuuri quietly put on some jeans, a long sleeve shirt and a rain coat. He then dug through his closet and found a simple black umbrella.

He grabbed his house keys and phone, a small flashlight and as an afterthought- his baseball bat.

Hah! Take that Wolfram- he was learning. He knew he shouldn't be walking alone at night without some sort of protection so... baseball bat it was. He probably wouldn't have to use it, but Yuuri liked to think Conrad would be proud of his forethought.

Yuuri then crept out of his room, avoiding all the creaky floor boards that he knew by heart as he made his way downstairs- within moments he made it outside, softly locking the front door behind him.

Yuuri's parents were fast asleep in their bedroom downstairs and Shouri was blissfully unaware of his little brother's plan as he immersed himself with _'Red Lady's Mysterious Love Adventure!'_ earbuds firmly in place.

Opening the umbrella and resting the bat over his shoulder with one hand, Yuuri began navigating down the sidewalk, listening to the tiny rain drops pattering against his nylon shelter.

 _'This would be a great time to catch dark-type and water Pokémon.'_ he thought as he tucked the bat under one arm and fished his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

One poke-stop lead to another... and another... and another until Yuuri looked up and realized it had been nearly an hour and he'd walked at least a couple of miles from his house.

 _'Really? I'm that far?'_ Yuuri thought as he checked his GPS and sighed. _'It's that damn Stantler's fault!'_ he thought woefully as he cut across the wet, grassy field of the park he was currently in. _'It kept disappearing and reappearing way out here in this park. I caught a lot of Pokémon this time though, I think that's enough for now...'_

The sound of his sneakers squeaking in the wet grass was the only response Yuuri got to that as he continued on his journey home, tucking his phone into his pocket so it couldn't distract him further.

 _'Damn... now it's almost 2 A.M. and I have school tomorrow. Now I kinda wish I had gone back to Shin Makoku...'_ Yet, despite the knowledge of going to school groggy Yuuri was happy... the walk had distracted him from his thoughts about Conrad if only for a short time.

However, it was then, as if on cue, the anxiety began to creep back in as Yuuri made it to the side walk.

 _'No... this feeling- it can't be.'_ Yuuri thought to himself as his breath became short once again. _'I can sense Conrad again!'_ he gasped, a million thoughts running through his head as he spun on his heel, looking around himself.

He could sense the other man so accurately with every turn of his head Yuuri expected to see him standing there- yet again and again he saw nothing.

The air was so still despite the rain and Yuuri held his breath unsure of what to do. Finally he took a breath and spoke into the darkness:

"Conrad?"

Yet... nothing answered him. In fact, there was no movement and no sound besides the rain steadily falling upon the city around him.

Feeling spooked- Yuuri decided to bee-line it home, folding up his umbrella so he could run for it. Usually the feeling of the man being close comforted Yuuri but feeling this sensation when Conrad was in the other world only made Yuuri feel intense anxiety.

As he started his sprint home, he felt that there was something or someone all around him, yet he heard and saw nothing.

That was, until he almost made it to his house.

Just as he rounded a familiar street corner, his heart racing, the familiar sight of his house in the distance flooded him with relief.

Unfortunately in that moment Yuuri took a quick glance over his shoulder and what he saw made him trip on his own feet as he nearly fell in the street.

Behind him in the inky darkness shielded from the street lights, there was a man following him. 

* * *

[7] You anime nerds out there probably already know this one- but In Japanese, はい hai is similar to the English word "yes" The use of the Japanese terms, however, don't correspond exactly to that of the English words. More precisely, はい hai in Japanese means, "I agree with you", or, "It is correct."


	8. Chapter 8

After a full 30 seconds of nothing but ragged breathing, the figure: a silhouette barely visible in the darkness, hadn't moved an inch.

Yuuri's eyes didn't dare move off the man for a second- worried he might vanish like a spider, leaving Yuuri to wonder in fear of where it went and when it'll show up again.

 _'I'm so stupid to have gone out this late!'_ Yuuri scolded himself, _'I should have stayed home. This guy probably wants to mug me or... worse...'_

Even from this distance Yuuri could tell whoever it was, he was tall... much taller than a normal Japanese person. This made Yuuri think of Slender Man **[8]** which did nothing to calm his adrenaline rattled nerves.

Perhaps the feeling he'd been getting from Conrad was the man trying to warn him that YUURI was in danger- not the other way around. Surely if Conrad was on Earth he would know it and the man definitely wouldn't be stalking him in the dark like this.

Now what?! He couldn't just go home; he didn't want this guy to know where he lived! What if the man attacked his family? Or tried to break into his house?

What if he was an escaped psychopath or something?

Yuuri's thoughts ran wild as he slowly straightened himself. The rain had picked up and within moments it'd gone from a drizzle to a full on downpour.

Not caring about being soaked anymore, Yuuri tossed his umbrella on the ground, he then took a step towards the man, holding the baseball bat over his shoulder with both hands as if he was on the field.

What was he doing?

Was he really going to try and threaten the man with a bat? What if he had a gun? What if it was a monster? Surely if demons existed (however normalized they were...) other monsters like vampires could be real too, no?

Regardless, Yuuri had done this to himself- his only option (to spare his family of potential tragedy on his behalf) was to stand his ground and maybe call 119... **[9]**

"H-Hey! I can see you!" Yuuri shouted, his voice wavering slightly as he took a few large steps towards the man, brandishing his weapon.

"Stop following me!"

There was a tense moment before Yuuri's heart nearly leapt into his throat, his blood running ice cold. Instead of walking away, the figure began advancing towards him at an alarming rate.

"H-HEY Stop! I said wait!" Yuuri shrieked, he thought of grabbing his phone to dial 119 but the thought of letting one hand off the bat for even a moment froze him in place. His grip on the weapon was the only thing that made him feel like he could make it out of this alive.

He briefly caught a glimpse of the man under the light of a lamp post- he was wearing a baseball cap, his face shrouded in shadows, a blazer and blue jeans... the vision only lasted a millisecond before he was in the shadows again, the rain obscuring Yuuri's view.

The man wouldn't have looked out of place at all at the mall or perhaps an airport- but here, at 2 A.M. on a dark rainy street at night he looked absolutely terrifying.

"S-Stay back!" Yuuri shouted, his feet rapidly bringing him backwards to try and put distance between the two of them.

It all happened so fast- within seconds the man was upon him as Yuuri staggered back, his feet catching on each other as he cried out in shock and fell, landing hard with a wet THUD on the pavement.

"Yuuri!"

 **"DON'T TOUCH ME!"** Yuuri shrieked and as a last ditch effort from his place on the ground Yuuri threw the bat at the man who deflected it with one arm before roughly grabbing a hold of Yuuri's shoulders.

"Yuuri, it's me!"

"CONRAD!?" Yuuri choked, his shrill voice was practically swallowed by the rain. "OH MY GOD- I thought you were going to kill me!" he cried in disbelief as Conrad hauled the younger man to his feet.

"I was talking to you- you didn't hear me?" Conrad asked, as Yuuri only shook his head, his mind reeling- his adrenaline still pumping as he clung to the taller man.

"Why didn't you say something!?"

"I'm sorry Yuuri but I did- I called your name before I walked over-"

"You ran!"

"I briskly walked..."

"I was going to hit you with that!" Yuuri cried, motioning to the bat on the ground as Conrad pet Yuuri's hair, looking him over for any injuries.

"You _did_ hit me with that." he said, an apologetic smile on his face. Yuuri must've still looked horrified because Conrad finally took his hat off and held Yuuri's face in his hands. "Yuuri, what were you doing out at this hour?"

"EXCUSE ME!?" Yuuri gasped, grabbing fistfuls of Conrad's shirt, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON EARTH!?"

"Aha~ I can explain. Do you want to go back to your house or my hotel?"

"Y-you have _a hotel room_?" Yuuri was so confused and honestly a little upset as he watched Conrad pick the umbrella up off the ground.

"Yes I do, though in this rain... you really should go home..."

"I'm not going home until you explain yourself." Yuuri said, wiping the rain out of his eyes. His face felt hot and Yuuri wouldn't admit it but he felt a bit like crying out of frustration.

"Alright... my hotel it is then." Conrad said gently, putting his arm around Yuuri's shoulders to guide the younger man. "I promise, I'll explain everything."

* * *

[8] Slenderman is a fictional supernatural character that originated as a creepypasta Internet meme created by Something Awful forums user Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge") in 2009. It is depicted as a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless head and face and wearing a black suit.

[9] 119 is Japan's equivalent to 911 the number dialed to contact emergency services.


	9. Chapter 9

By the time they made it to the hotel room Yuuri was exhausted. The man had done his best to explain things before they got there but he still had a lot of questions.

From what he'd gathered... when Conrad had left on his mission it wasn't within Shin Makoku it was on Earth. He'd been here about a week already. When Yuuri had felt his presence on the train earlier in the day- that was because Conrad had been there.

When Yuuri had felt Conrad's presence in the park that was because Conrad had felt Yuuri nearby and had gone out to investigate where he found his king wandering the streets alone at night and decided to follow him home- not to impede his independence... but to make sure he got there safely.

And... Yuuri overreacted when Conrad had approached him in the rain because he'd wound himself up just a bit too much.

"You said you felt that I was nearby when I was in the park- where were you?"

"I was in my hotel room when I felt you were nearby I thought it was far too late for you to be out and so close to where I was." Yuuri simply blushed at that as Conrad fiddled with the hotel room door before opening it, allowing Yuuri to walk in first.

"Why didn't you tell me your mission was on Earth?"

"Well... I couldn't bring you with me and didn't want you to feel home-sick. You still had work to do in Shin Makoku."

"Yeah but..." Yuuri sighed, looking around the room, there were multiple bowls of finished mac-and-cheese in the small sink and various items lying about- including video games, CD's and clothing. It looked like a haphazard mess compared to Conrad's room back in Shin Makoku.

"We're you alone in here?" Yuuri asked, eyeing the dishes suspiciously. Unless Conrad ate mac-and-cheese multiple days in a row someone ate with him.

"No, originally this was Jose's hotel room and I was just staying with him. However, he had work to do so he left earlier today."

"Ah..." Yuuri's jealousy drained away, leaving him feeling a little foolish and cold. Conrad busied himself by retrieving a towel and bath-robe from the bathroom. "It'd be best if you change into this. I'll put your clothes to dry downstairs. I also have a few t-shirts and other clothes lying around if you want to wear those."

"Oh.. this is fine." Yuuri murmured, taking the towel and robe.

As he went to the bathroom to change Conrad quickly swapped his own soaked clothes out for dry ones as he tidied up the small space. It was nearly 3 A.M. now... if he didn't get Yuuri back home before dawn- his family might worry. At this rate, Conrad figured Yuuri should just stay home from school rather than force himself to go on only a few hours of sleep.

But Conrad wasn't Yuuri's parent and the man knew that wasn't up for him to decide. Even though Yuuri was 17 he was still considered a minor in Japan.

When Yuuri exited the bathroom carrying his wet clothes, the sight made Conrad's chest ache.

He looked adorable, wearing the hotel's white bath robe that was too big for him. His slick black hair contrasted starkly against the fluffy white collar around his neck.

"You don't have to dry my clothes- I'll just hang them up, you know? I'll borrow yours if I need to." With that, he hung his clothes over the back of a chair before sitting on the couch and Conrad shook his head at the teenager.

"Unfortunately Yuuri we really should be getting you home. I can book a taxi and ride with you if you'd like."

Why was Conrad trying to get rid of him? Yuuri thought Conrad looked so out-of-place wearing blue-jeans in a hotel room in Japan on Earth. Although he was relieved it was Conrad and that everything was okay... He had to admit he was still a little salty about the whole ordeal.

"Ken went to Shin Makoku because I thought you were in danger..." Yuuri trailed off and Conrad grinned sheepishly.

"A-actually Yuuri... Geika was the one who sent me here."

"What!? You mean he knew the whole time?" Yuuri blanched before crossing his arms over his chest, burrowing deeper into the couch. Conrad could feel the chill from Yuuri's pouty glare. "I can understand Ken being secretive he's always a little sneaky but not you..."

Conrad ran a hand through his hair before coming to sit next to Yuuri on the couch. "Yuuri... would you like to know why I came to Earth- what my mission really was?"

"If it's not a lie." Yuuri snapped- however, the minute the words left his lips he felt guilty so he relaxed his shoulders and leaned into Conrad's side, their shoulders touching. "Sorry... Yes, I would..."

Instead of explaining, Conrad pulled out a sleek looking phone and unlocked the touch screen.

Seeing Conrad manipulate the technology so fluidly made Yuuri curious as to how long he'd been using it.

Wait... was that...?

"I actually asked Geika if I could come to Earth because after you and I had our talk about Pokemon..."

No way.

"I felt the need to know more about-" Conrad couldn't finish however because Yuuri blurted out:

"You came here to learn more about Pokemon?"

"Ah, actually- to learn more about your world... so you and I could have more to talk about. Yuuri, I'm sorry for not telling you but I wanted to know more about you."

There was silence- as Yuuri's ears began to ring, his face flushing from all the blood rushing to his head.

"You... you're a higher level than I am." Yuuri mumbled, almost too embarrassed to speak as he peered over Conrad's shoulder at his phone- the small figure on the screen was dressed in red.

Conrad had joined team Valor.

"I've been playing it a lot..." Conrad admitted as Yuuri glanced around at the various CD's on the coffee table before them.

"Have you been watching anime?"

"Somewhat." Conrad smiled sheepishly.

"Can I see your strongest Pokemon?"

"Of course." the man replied as he went into his menu to retrieve said Pokemon Yuuri pulled out his own phone and turned it on.

Just as the screen lit up Conrad's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Yuuri's phone background was none other than a picture of himself. Upon noticing this, Yuuri immediately flinched so hard he dropped the phone on the carpet beneath them.

"Ah- I'll get it-" Conrad tried to say, bending down to retrieve the fallen device but Yuuri let out a squeak and dove for it at the same time, crashing their skulls together with a dull thunk.

"Ow- sorry Conrad, I just-"

"It's alright, Yuuri..."

As Conrad handed the phone to the teen their hands brushed, their hair close enough to touch as Yuuri let out a shaky sigh and Conrad chuckled. "I-It's just a really nice picture..." Yuuri mumbled and Conrad's smile grew even more.

"I didn't know you took it... may I have a picture of you for my background?"

IF THIS DIDN'T STOP- Yuuri felt he might be the first person to literally die of embarrassment.

"Your face is red, you're not sick are you? If you catch a cold from the rain..."

"N-no..." Yuuri shook his head, powering up his phone once more, only this time he held it so Conrad couldn't see the screen. "I'm fine... y-you were gunna show me your strongest Pokemon right?"

"Yes, this one." Conrad held up his phone and Yuuri almost choked. Conrad owned Lapras, (which was amazing in and of itself) but that's not what made Yuuri choke.

Conrad had named his Lapras "有利"

"Advantageous" or in other words: Yuuri.

Conrad had named his Lapras Yuuri.

"W-why'd you name him...?" Now it was Conrad's turn to blush and look away, a small, secretive smile on his face. "Ah- well Jose explained this one was special and I thought it looked cute... he's also a powerful water Pokemon right?"

"T-that's right... I... you've learned a lot about Pokemon lately."

"I have." he said with some pride and finally Yuuri couldn't contain himself and began to laugh.

"Ah... is it a silly name to give a Pokemon?" Conrad asked and Yuuri punched the man's arm. "No, it's a silly name to give the son of a banker!" **[10]** He chided, shaking his head which made Conrad laugh too.

"I didn't name my strongest Pokemon after you." Yuuri admitted, showing Conrad his hard-earned Gyarados.

"He looks fearsome... it reminds me of the water dragons you sometimes use... when you use your magic." Yuuri's eyes widened- really? He knew he spouted dragons out of water but were they scary?

A comfortable atmosphere formed around the two as they relaxed into the couch, talking about Pokemon and Anime and the different things Conrad had learned in the past week. Time stretched on until Yuuri was practically falling asleep while talking and Conrad brushed a thumb over Yuuri's cheek.

"You should rest, Yuuri..."

"I don't want to sleep." he protested and Conrad nodded comfortingly.

"You don't have to sleep just lay down, alright?" He coaxed and Yuuri finally gave in, allowing Conrad to guide Yuuri to lay on the couch with him. It wasn't a large space but Yuuri didn't mind as he laid his head on the man's chest and listened to Conrad talk as he went through his phone and showed Yuuri different things.

Their closeness right now, where Yuuri was practically on top of the other man reminded him of the time they had to share a coffin and it made Yuuri smile. Even when they'd supposedly been on separate sides... He'd felt comfortable being close to Conrad.

Even this close, (where normally, with anyone else, Yuuri would be trying to escape.) Yuuri felt so relaxed he could fall asleep... and fall asleep he did- it was just like turning off a light. One minute Yuuri's eyes were open- half lidded as he listened to Conrad talk about Boston, the next he was snoring softly, dead weight against the man's side.

Conrad smiled softly, turning his phone off after setting an alarm and sending out some text-messages to Yuuri's mother and father- hoping they wouldn't wake up from such late notifications.

Hopefully he'd be able to stave off Shouri long enough for Yuuri to get some proper rest. Hopefully he could save Yuuri from having to go to school tomorrow because they had so much more to talk about. Hopefully they could talk about things weighing heavily on Conrad's mind ans heart.

 _'Things like this...'_ Conrad thought as he opened Yuuri's phone and stared at the boy's background: the picture of himself by the garden fountain in his home land.

With that, he closed his eyes and tried to rest as well, his mind churning with things unsaid and undiscovered.

Things to come. 

* * *

[10] Yuuri's name in Japanese is spelled with the Kanji: 有利 (Yūri) which translates to "advantageous" or "profitable" so people make fun of him by saying Shibuya Yūri, Harajuku Furi (渋谷有利原宿不利) (roughly translated meaning "if Shibuya is profitable then Harajuku is unprofitable").


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you to Tsubasakura 2 & Wordtypo for the kudos! :) Your comments gave me some inspiration! _

* * *

Shouri's alarm went off at 9 AM waking him from a rather... weird dream.

He'd been stranded on a desert island.

He had thought he was alone at first but it turned out that man, (Conrad Weller) was also on the island. They joined together to find their way off of it but the entire dream was just Weller being unhelpful and infuriating.

In one part of the dream Shouri was struggling to catch fish and that man caught arm fulls like it was a breeze. In another, Shouri couldn't make a fire and Weller only had to snap his fingers. He was stronger and faster and looked good while doing it too.

Then, Shouri found the girl of his dreams had been stranded on the island too and tried to seduce and get close to her only to find out that the girl of his dreams was his little brother Yuuri in a polka-dotted girls bathing suit.

Then, Yuuri only wanted to hang out with Weller and completely ignored him, they ate fish and had a grand time while Shouri was left alone to seethe in anger at the entire situation.

Perhaps his subconscious was just reminding him of how he wasn't looking forward to spending time with Weller in Akihabara today.

He sighed before rolling out of bed.

Groggily, he rubbing his bleary eyes before putting on his glasses and slowly making his way to the wash room.

Just the thought of that man made Shouri irritated. He was doing all this weird stuff like studying Japanese pop culture and things Yuuri liked to get closer to his brother and he didn't like it. However, he'd made a deal with Jose so this was it... Besides, if he was with that Weller guy he could keep tabs on him and learn more about his true intentions.

 _'I just have to remain calm...'_ Shouri thought as he headed downstairs. _'I can't let him get to me.'_

"Good morning Shou-chan~!" he heard his mother sing-song from the kitchen. "You slept in- do you have anything important to do today?"

"Good morning mom... no, not really." he said, sitting at the table as his mother brought him his plate- a little cold due to his late arrival. Shouri didn't mind, it tasted just fine as he began to dig in.

"Did Yuu-chan go to school?" Shouri asked and his mother only laughed.

"Oh! No, I guess Conrad came to visit so he took Yuuri with him to Akihabara today."

Suddenly the food wouldn't go down but it wouldn't come up either as Shouri began to choke, trying to cough as his mother rushed to his side. "Shouri! Are you alright!?" Miko gasped as she violently patted her oldest son's back.

"I'm fine!" He gasped, coughing repeatedly. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

"You mean Con-chan? He texted me late last night and said Yuuri was with him. Then he called first thing this morning and explained that he was in town and Yuuri didn't go to bed until very late last night because he was up worrying about the other world so they were going to spend the day together but he wanted my permission first."

"And you said yes!?" Shouri said, his voice raising a few dramatic octaves.

"Was I not suppose to? What's going on Shou-chan, is everything alright?"

"Well- ah..." Shouri took a deep breath before turning his gaze away from his mother. "It's fine, you didn't do anything wrong I just... wasn't expecting this."

"If you want, you can probably join them in Akihabara today, I'm sure Yuu-chan would love that!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Oh~ If only I didn't have things to do I would love to go."

"N-no, it's fine. I just remembered I do have something to do today." Shouri said as he picked up his half-finished plate and brought it to the kitchen. "You're finished already?" Miko asked and Shouri nodded, dumping the remains in the trash.

"I'm not hungry..." at least he wasn't anymore.

"Oh! I almost forgot, I have to show you the picture he sent me!" Miko said with excitement, picking up her phone and bringing it close to her son's side. "Conrad hadn't texted me before so I didn't recognize his number so he sent me a picture of them both to show me they were really okay- but it's so cute! See?"

It was like a horrifying train wreck: Shouri knew he wouldn't enjoy looking at it but his eyes betrayed him and forced him to look anyway.

"W-wh..." he felt light headed as all the blood rushed to his head. "Where are his clothes!?"

"Con-chan said Yuu-chan's clothes got wet because they went for a walk and it started raining but doesn't he look adorable in that robe? He looks like an angel~"

He _did_ look like an angel, in the picture Conrad had taken a selfie: half of the image was of the man's calm smiling face, the other half showed Yuuri asleep on the man's chest. The couch they were laying on looked familiar to Shouri as his eyes narrowed.

 _Conrad had slept with his little brother in Jose's hotel room last night and hadn't said a word to Shouri._

Yuuri didn't say anything either and his clothes just 'got wet'?

Shouri could see nothing but red as he clenched his jaw, he didn't even remember saying good-bye to his mother as he got dressed and left the house. This was a goddamn nightmare and Shouri was definitely going to make that man pay for taking advantage of his brother's purity.

* * *

"Haaa~ shopping is exhausting." Yuuri huffed as he and Conrad trekked their way down Akihabara's busy side walks.

Next to him, Conrad was playing _Pokemon Go._

In one hand he held his phone; shopping bags hanging from the crook of his elbow, and in the other hand... he held Yuuri's hand.

 _'So we don't get separated.'_ Yuuri had said.

The more they walked the more attention they grabbed and the sweatier his hand got- but Yuuri couldn't complain. However embarrassing it was, he was happy.

No one here knew him and this was his first time alone with Conrad on Earth.

Without Wolfram around to snap at him about getting within 3 feet of Conrad, Yuuri could finally relax around the man. Besides, he'd been mistaken in the past as a couple with worse candidates: Ken and Wolf to name a few.

"Are you hungry? Would you like to take a break?" Conrad asked and Yuuri's eyes lit up. "Yes, I'm starving- where do you want to eat though? There's a lot of restaurants up ahead."

"Hmm..." Conrad let go of Yuuri's hand to pull up a map on his phone, and Yuuri came closer, his fingers lingering on the taller man's arm.

"It says there's a sushi place up ahead and a maid cafe..."

Yuuri chuckled nervously, there was no way he'd bring Conrad to a maid cafe- the girls would be all over him. No thank you. "How about this one?" Yuuri pointed to a steak-house of sorts on the screen. "It looks really good."

"I'll eat anything." Conrad smiled and Yuuri rolled his eyes. "I know you will," he laughed, "But I still want something enjoyable- not just anything. We've got options." Conrad was stubbornly lenient when it came to his own pleasures in life. Leave it to Yuuri to remind him that he didn't have to settle for eating the bare minimum just because he had in the past.

"There's a review on Yelp." Conrad said, as he cleared his throat and read the Kanji carefully: "It says: _'Five stars, great Steak.'_ " he read and Yuuri raised an eyebrow as to why Conrad cared what the Yelp reviews said.

"I suppose then we won't make a **misteak** going there. **Well-done** , Yuuri. It's **rare** to find a steak house in Japan with truly good steak. I suppose you could say that in finding one the **steaks** are high. Who knows if you'll still **beef** friends with the person you bring to a bad steak house."

The more Conrad spoke the faster Yuuri walked, but Conrad's long legs kept them in stride until the youth couldn't take it anymore and covered his ears with both hands.

"AHHHHH CONRAD!" He shouted, shooting a look over his shoulder at the man. "Stop with the steak puns! I'm regretting choosing the place now!"

"I apologize Yuuri, I didn't mean to drive you to have to **grill** me about it."

"Enough already! Promise me you won't say any more, I can't handle it, I have goose bumps all over my arms now..."

"Alright, Yuuri. I promise I won't **utter** another pun." he said with the most charming grin, making Yuuri narrow his eyes until he could barely see the man.

"Seriously, Conard?" he said, complaint in his voice.

" **Sear** -iously." the man said back.

Yuuri could see it now: Conrad's true power wasn't in his swordsmanship or his military training. His most deadly weapon was just how many horrible puns he could make about seemingly pointless subjects in such a short amount of time.

He'd made _7 puns in less than 30 seconds_ \- all about... steak.

Terrifying.

* * *

Despite the bad taste Conrad had put in his mouth about the place- the steak house was actually quite cozy. It had nice decor and atmosphere and the aromas were delicious making Yuuri's stomach growl loudly as he waited for their orders to come in.

Thankfully Conrad seemed to have had his fill of steak-related puns and was currently engrossed in his phone once more. Yuuri thought it was cute- and pretty hilarious that Conrad was already so attached to the technology.

He'd been impressed when Conrad had told him earlier this morning that he'd texted Yuuri's mother and had got him off the hook from school. He didn't know Conrad had her phone number- let alone that he knew how to text.

It made Yuuri excited. He wished there was some way he could text Conrad all the time- like when the man was away in Shin Makoku. To be able to share pictures and update each other about what was going on in their lives would be perfectly awesome.

They shared a booth, but instead of sitting across from Conrad he chose to sit next to him so they could talk and play video games easier.

"I wish you and I could hang out like this more often." Yuuri sighed, leaning his head against his companion's shoulder. "We're both just so busy all the time."

Conrad's easy laughter soothed Yuuri's heart as the man turned to look down at him.

"I would love that. I was wondering if Anissina could help invent something to bridge the gap between our worlds. Whenever you come here for only a short time, you're gone for several months in Shin Makoku..."

"I was thinking the same thing!" Yuuri said, smiling. "Like, I don't know if it's a great idea to get her started on a new invention but... if we could keep in touch while I'm on Earth I think that'd make it easier for Shin Makoku. That way if something goes wrong over there and you need me I can come right away."

Conrad nodded, "It'd be easier on you, too. It may help you balance both better. Perhaps I'll bring this back with me." he said, motioning to the phone. "I'll see if she can tinker with it. I'll ask Jose if he has any extras with him in case she destroys this one."

Yuuri chuckled at that, before looking up- the food had arrived. "Alright!" he clapped cheerfully, as the plates were set out before them. _"Let's eat!"_

* * *

ALL DAY Yuuri and Conrad walked hand in hand, arm in arm, smile to smile through Akihabara.

Every time Shouri thought he'd gathered up enough nerve to approach them- he backed down and hid a while longer. Many times there were too close- too intimate and it made Shouri want to leap out of the shadows and punch that man square in his stupid face- but he refrained.

Was Yuuri always this... _clingy_ with friends? Or was this something else?

Whatever happened to that blonde kid that was his supposed fiance? Wasn't that Weller's younger brother? _Did he care?_ Not that Shouri supported Wolfram being with Yuuri either, (no one was truly good enough for his innocent Yuu-chan) but Shouri didn't hate Wolfram the same way he despised Conrad.

They bought ice-cream together, Yuuri had even offered Conrad a spoonful of his own flavor, hand-feeding it to the man in a way that made Shouri think he was going to pass out- before both men made their way into the Pokemon Emporium: a massive multi level Pokemon shopping extravaganza.

Within it's brightly colored confines Shouri lost sight of the two. He'd been relying on Conrad's height to spot them for most of the day but once they were among the shelves lined with Pokemon stuffed animals, cups, hats, bags, clothes and anything else you could possibly imagine- he lost track of them.

"Damnit." he muttered to himself, as he made his way around the store- trying to spot them again before he could be spotted himself.

"Hey Conrad, I forgot to ask- do you have a favorite Pokemon?" Yuuri said as they walked down the rows of stuffed animals. The man thought for a moment before smiling and laughing a bit sheepishly. "Yes, I do actually... this one." he pointed to the stuffed yellow duck on one of the shelves before carefully picking up the stuffed toy.

"His name is _Psyduck_ , right?" Conrad said with confidence as Yuuri blushed- the sight of Conrad holding the yellow duck was just too cute. "That's right!" he grinned. "Why's he your favorite though? Do you have a thing for ducks?"

Conrad quirked an eyebrow at Yuuri. "You don't say that because of my Captain, do you?"

"Your... _Captain?_ " Yuuri echoed and Conrad squeezed the toy in his hands a few times. "Yes, Captain Rubber Duck-"

"You mean the rubber duck in your office?" Yuuri laughed, "Yes- actually! Because you already have that duck- liking this one makes it seem like you have a fondness for... well, ducks."

"Ducks are cute but the duck in my office is a special duck. I like this duck because he gets headaches. He reminds me of Gwendal." He laughed and Yuuri smiled. Psyduck was pretty cute it somehow suited the man that he wasn't interested in powerful Pokemon, more so ones he felt a connection with.

"What's your favorite Pokemon, Yuuri?"

Hmmm... he hadn't thought much about it- but if he had to choose... "I really like Squirtle and his evolutions." Yuuri said. "He's pretty cool- there's on in the T.V. show that wears sunglasses at one point." he laughed and Conrad nodded.

"Is this one Squitle?" he said, pointing to a Mudkip on the stuffed animal shelf. "Ah no- but you're close, this is Squirtle. He's the one that looks like a turtle."

"Ahhh, I see."

Things went on like this for some time until it was time to leave the store, and Yuuri got in line to buy a couple of items to bring back to Shin Makoku- including a red Charmander for Wolfram. He wouldn't explain what the Charmander was but he thought maybe the blonde would enjoy it. Though Yuuri wasn't sure with Wolfram, sometimes he could be weird about gifts.

While he was in line, Conrad went to use the restroom. It was perfect timing for Yuuri who had been wanting to buy the man a gift all day but didn't know what to buy and couldn't with him being so close.

In haste, Yuuri chose to buy Conrad the stuffed Psyduck toy- hurrying to get in line and purchase it before the other man got back.


	11. Chapter 11

In the restroom... as Conrad stood in front of one of the many sinks to wash his hands, he looked up in time to catch sight of a blur of motion behind him just in time to flinch out of the way of a well-aimed fist.

He'd felt the gust of air from it brush past his hair as he spun on his heel to face his attacker- in that moment he couldn't think of a single person he knew that'd throw a punch at him in a public rest room on Earth.

So he had to admit he was caught off guard when the man before him turned out to be none other than Shouri.

" _Shouri?_ " Conrad muttered in surprise as he tilted his head ever so slightly at the man, who stood only a foot away, chest heaving and face red in anger.

"I take it you didn't get my text messages-"

That didn't seem to help the situation, instead of saying anything, Shouri took another swing at Conrad who couldn't dodge since he was up against a tucked in space, so instead he roughly grabbed Shouri's arm before it could land a blow.

"Shouri!" He hissed, "Stop this, _talk to me_."

"There's nothing to talk about." Shouri snapped. Conrad took a step towards the younger man, causing their shoulders to touch as he forced the other to take a step back.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a stout, older Japanese man enter the restroom- take one look at them then walk back out.

"This is not the place. If you want to fight me we can, but not here. Though, I have to admit I have no idea why you want to fight me in the first place." Conrad said, speaking in low tones. "You have no idea!?" Shouri shouted, the room amplified his voice into a piercing echo. "You perverted bastard! _That's my little brother!_ "

"Do you think I did something to him?"

"I know you did, I've been watching you both all day." Shouri growled and Conrad tried to think of all the possible outcomes a situation like this could hold. "Shouri, whatever you think I've done, you're wrong. He's my king-"

"I wish he wasn't." he spat as the bathroom door opened yet again.

"Excuse me, gentleman- is there something going on in here?" there was a security guard with the stout Japanese man from before hovering over his shoulder.

"Not at all." Conrad replied with a smile, pulling an arm around Shouri who wretched it off of him as if the man's touch had burned his skin. "Please, if you're finished, follow me." the guard said, holding the door open for them.

Conrad let Shouri go first.

Once they were outside the store, the younger man immediately turned on Conrad, getting into his space once again.

"I'll take Yuuri home, you should go." He said, and Conrad held his hands up in defense. "That's fine, Shouri. Yuuri is inside paying for some items in line. Can I make sure you know where he is first, before I go?"

"I know where he is!" Shouri shouted and Conrad took a step back, to show he wasn't trying to challenge him.

"Alright, Shouri. We'll talk later, then." Whatever Shouri was upset about, it angered him enough to throw a punch at him. It was best to simply back off and let Shouri have what he wanted until he cooled off.

With that, Conrad turned and left.

After a few moments all of the tension drained out of Shouri's shoulders. He would beat the shit out of Conrad Weller later, first he needed to talk to his brother.

As Conrad made his way onto the train from Akihabara to Shibuya station, he pulled out his phone to text Yuuri.

 **[[Yuuri, your brother said he wants to take you home. He's outside the store- I got a call from Jose he said it was an emergency. Do you see Shouri?]]**

He waited, and it wasn't long before he got a reply.

 **[[Yuuri: I was just about to text you! Yes I'm with him now. Is everything okay? When did Shouri get here? What emergency?]]**

Conrad thought of how to reply... he honestly wasn't sure what to make of what just happened. He hadn't expected it in the slightest.

 **[[Everything is O.K. emergency is on Earth not home, nothing dangerous.]]**

He sent, before he slowly finished typing,

 **[[We'll talk later, be safe.]]**

With that, he leaned against the train's sliding door as it rumbled along to its destination. He hadn't had a moment to talk to Yuuri about anything he'd meant to today... perhaps that was for the best- seeing that the whole time Shouri had been close-by listening and watching them.

Was he upset because of how close they were? Conrad wasn't dense, he had to admit he let himself slip more than once today with Yuuri, allowing the boy to handle him in a way he normally wouldn't allow.

Usually there were walls, barriers and obstacles that Conrad put up to direct and divert Yuuri away from being too friendly, too informal, too... close. But today he'd opened up because he'd intended to ask Yuuri something that had been troubling him for a while: where they stood.

Not only that, but where Yuuri stood with Wolfram.

The waters between them were muddy yet regardless of how it might affect their relationship Conrad knew he was the adult in the situation. He was responsible for taking the dive and putting their friendship on the line by being open with his king.

Yuuri was young and probably didn't know how to approach such a subject. Even if it was just as a friend, it was his duty to try to ease the nervous unknown tension building between them.

If Yuuri didn't like him romantically and Conrad was simply misreading the boy's signals, he'd apologize and hope it didn't make things so awkward between them that they couldn't enjoy each other's company again.

If he did like him... well, Conrad honestly hadn't given it much thought.

Possibly because it frightened him. Yuuri was still a minor, his king, engaged to his brother (mistake or not) and his god-son. Being romantically involved would be... complicated to say the least.

Being romantically involved could also cost himself and Yuuri connections with many people they held dear.

If Yuuri's parents or Shouri didn't approve, (Conrad had a pretty good hunch that Shouri would hate their union) it could cost Yuuri his relationships with his family if he still chose to be with him. Not to mention Conrad's relationship with Yuuri's parents.

Would that be morally right of Conrad? To allow Yuuri to choose him over his family, even when Conrad knew how young Yuuri was and that the boy may regret it- regret him, later?

His own brothers might not approve either, (again, Conrad had a hunch Wolfram would hate their union) not to mention the courts.

Even though he was considered a 'war hero' (a term Conrad despised) it still carried no weight in royal courts. Courting or (Shinou forbid) marrying the king when he was nothing but a half-human soldier would cause massive disrupt. Would it be responsibly correct then for Conrad (as a soldier and supporter of the hierarchy and someone who fully understood the repercussions) to allow their relationship to blossom even though it would put the courts into shambles?

Like Psyduck, Conrad felt a headache blossoming as he rubbed his face and sighed.

Regardless the talk had to happen- whatever the outcome was Conrad knew he'd still care deeply for his godson and would protect and serve him faithfully unless Yuuri wanted otherwise.

When the train stopped it had begun to rain again and Conrad sighed as he made his way back to his hotel. He didn't feel like playing _Pokemon Go_ or even touching his phone so he walked briskly in silence.

He was almost there when he passed by an awning in front of a convenience store and noticed a familiar figure of a woman standing just outside of the rain.

" _Con-chan!_ " She shouted, laughing in relief as she ran though the rain to his side, throwing her arms around his neck in a large hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here! My car won't start and my phone is dead- it's a modern nightmare!" she cried as Conrad wrapped his arms around her, patting her back.

"Jennifer? Here, let's get out of the rain-" he said as he led her back to the overhang. "Where's Yuu-chan?" she asked and Conrad shook his head.

"We were in Akihabara when Shouri showed up and took Yuuri with him." Conrad wasn't sure if he should mention to her that her son took a swing at him. Before she could ask more questions about her sons Conrad cut to the chase.

"Your car won't start?" He asked and Miko nodded, wringing her hands together. "No, when I try to start it, it just clicks a bunch of times." Conrad thought long and hard for a moment, before shaking his head.

"I don't remember what the clicking might mean and I don't know enough about cars to fix it- but I have a phone, would you like me to call a cab?"

Miko smiled, nodding as she leaned against his arm. "I wouldn't mind walking, we're not far from home but this rain..." it was pouring. "It's alright" he assured her, "the fare is on me. We'll have Shouma and Jose come out and look at your car later tonight. It should be fine sitting here for now."

With that, they called a taxi and got a ride to the house. It wasn't a far drive but Miko talked the whole way, excited to see Conrad again. When they got to Yuuri's house, Miko got out and waited for Conrad to follow her.

"Con-chan, you're coming inside aren't you?" she asked through the rain as Conrad gave her a blank stare. "It's raining Miko- head inside..." he started to say when she gave him a look.

"If you're not busy, would you like to come in? We could all eat dinner together! I'll even make your favorite!" she said, reaching in to grab his sleeve. He'd been planning on going back to the hotel but... he really couldn't turn down such a generous offer and Miko had such a hopeful look on her face he found it hard to say no.

So, that's how he ended up standing in the Shibuya family's living room as Miko bustled about, fetching him dry clothes and chattering on a mile-a-minute.

He really wasn't looking forward to eating dinner with Shouri, but Conrad chose to think of it as eating dinner with Yuuri and his parents with... Shouri simply present.

"Here you go Conrad." she said with a smile, handing him a towel and some clothes. "If you'd like you can change in the bathroom down the hall."

He smiled and thanked her, before doing just that.

* * *

As Shouri and Yuuri navigated the streets of Akihabara the irritation between the two brothers was building, much like the storm that was on the horizon.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Yuuri said in clear agitation. "Why'd you come to Akihabara, what's going on that you won't tell me about?"

"Can it, Yuu-chan." Shouri snapped as they approached the subway. "We'll talk when we get home."

"Why? Does your voice have trouble working outdoors?" Yuuri quipped back as his older sibling gave him a side-long stare.

"You've been acting so weird lately Shouri! Mom said you were out with friends the other night and you and I both know that's a lie. You got home super late and started nagging me- now you show up out of nowhere and won't tell me what's going on. Are you on drugs? Did you get a rebellious girlfriend?"

" _Yuu-chan!_ " Shouri hissed in a fierce whisper between them. "You want to know where I was last night?" he asked in anger and Yuuri nodded, waiting for his brother to lie to him.

"I was at _that man's_ hotel room with Jose." he snapped. "The same hotel room you **slept in with him last night.** " Yuuri's eyebrows raised in slight surprise as they boarded the train, sticking close so they could talk in hushed tones.

"Why were you at Conrad's hotel?" Yuuri asked in bewilderment as Shouri held up a hand to silence him. " **No,** you tell me first how you ended up in a bathrobe sleeping _on his chest_."

The comment made Yuuri's neck and face heat up in embarrassment. How'd Shouri know he'd slept on Conrad's chest!? The collar of his shirt suddenly felt hot and constricting as Yuuri tried to form a response. "Were you in the hotel room with us-!?" he blurted out and Shouri shook his head.

"No, I was asleep in my room like I should have been. Like YOU should have been. Did that man come to our house to sneak you out in the middle of the night?"

"What? No- I went for a walk..."

"At _midnight_?" the tone in his older brother's voice was one of skepticism and it made Yuuri bristle even more. "I know it sounds stupid but I couldn't clear my head from worrying about C-Conrad so I went for a walk."

"You told me last night you weren't worried about Weller- that you were worried about your kingdom!"

"I- hey, keep it down!" Yuuri said, feeling more and more trapped by the second, as he looked around the busy train car. "I was worried about both of them- okay- and I went for a walk in the rain and went to far. Conrad said he noticed me outside..."

"He was outside too?"

"He has this weird 6th sense when it comes to me-" this comment just made Shouri huff in disbelief as Yuuri continued.

"Hey! I can spout WATER DRAGONS from my HANDS Shouri- Conrad being able to tell when I'm nearby is NOT that hard to believe. He could tell I was outside and when he saw I was out so late he tried to follow me home to make sure I made it okay- but I got spooked and thought he was a mugger so I attacked him with a baseball bat and then when I realized it was him I was really upset and wanted him to explain to me why he was on Earth. He told me to go home but I was the one who said no and told him to take me to his hotel room so we could talk. He explained everything there but my clothes were soaked so I changed and fell asleep suddenly when we were on the couch."

Yuuri took a deep breath- he'd said everything in one go so that Shouri wouldn't interrupt him.

"Wait, back it up- explain to me the couch part because the picture mom showed me-"

"What picture?" Yuuri asked and Shouri looked a little surprised. "That man took a picture of you both on the couch and sent it to mom."

"Oh... I think he told me he sent her a picture- to prove he was the one texting her or something..."

"Whatever! The point is, I don't understand how you ended up asleep on his chest-"

"I don't understand why you **CARE!** " Yuuri finally snapped, his voice raising above their previous sound level barrier, making a few people around them shuffle about awkwardly, pretending like they weren't listening to the whole conversation. "I care because I'm your **BROTHER.** " Shouri said through gritted teeth- both boys staring daggers into each other. "That man is a lying, sneaky bastard who's trying to manipulate you-"

"You don't even know Conrad, don't you dare say bad things about him!" Yuuri growled as the train began to slow, roughly groaning its way into Shibuya station.

"I know enough of him to know he's taking advantage of you."

"Stop it, Shouri." Yuuri said, pushing past his sibling as soon as the doors to the train opened- the air was wet and Yuuri could see rain was already starting to fall beyond the station.

"What really happened last night, Yuuri. I need to know." Shouri said, grabbing Yuuri's arm to turn his little brother towards him.

"Nothing, you creep!" Yuuri snapped, yanking his arm out of the other's grasp. "I fell asleep and woke up to breakfast Conrad made for me- he told me he texted mom and got me out of school and asked me if I wanted to go to Akihabara. Then you know what we did? We went and had an AMAZING time together until you showed up! Nothing else happened, you're the one being a creepy jerk, not him!"

With that, Yuuri took off- running full speed out of the station, completely focused on loosing Shouri at all costs. The further he ran, the more distant his brother's footsteps and shouting became.

Shouri was taller, yes, but Yuuri had been running every morning with Conrad and was faster because of it. He took full advantage of his training as he ducked under dividers and wove his way through crowds of umbrella-wielding pedestrians.

Several minutes passed until Yuuri was forced to stop, his lungs burning as he ducked into a store to escape the rain, panting hard.

 _"Running from your troubles, young man?"_

"Eh?" Yuuri said, looking up right into the withered face of an old woman- her immediate closeness startled Yuuri who flinched backwards as he bumped into a table, knocking over a crystal ball that sat on a pedestal.

Yuuri only had a moment to react as he dove for the ball, catching it inches before it smashed on the floor.

"Careful young man. Breaking that would be bad luck- not to mention about 32,000 yen." **[11]**

"S-seriously?" Yuuri said as he very carefully placed the heavy orb back in its holster as if it would explode in his hands.

"Did you come here for a tarot reading?" she asked and Yuuri gave her a strange look- glancing around the small shop. It was adorned with strange looking objects, thick old candles, heavy-looking purple draperies and other oddities. Everything in the shop looked as old and as withered as the woman before him.

"Is this a fortune telling shop?"

"Yes."

"Ah..." Yuuri looked out the shop window into the rain. He highly doubted Shouri would find him here- perhaps he could wait until the rain let up a bit before heading out. "How much does it cost?" he asked, fishing around in his pockets for his wallet.

"For you, young man... free. I can tell you have a destiny about you." Yuuri looked surprised- but thanked her as she held her hand up, leading him into the back room.

In the back was an old, round wooden table with two squat-looking wooden stools on either side of it. All around it were piles of dusty blankets and baskets of woven dolls.

"Have a seat. I'll read your fortune with a traditional 3 card reading."

"A-alright..." he said, sitting down and placing his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry for the mess." he said, motioning towards the drippings that had come off of his clothes and hair.

"It's just water. It'll all recede back to nature eventually. You and I are no different from those drops there."

"Aha... I see..." Yuuri said as the woman cleared her throat, sitting across from him. She pulled out a large worn deck of cards and began to expertly shuffle them before his eyes.

She then split the deck into three stacks.

"Pick a stack, young man."

He did, and she then spread all the cards out into a large pattern on the table's surface.

"Pick three."

Yuuri picked three easily, without hesitation as the woman centered his choices on the table and put the rest of the deck away.

Slowly she turned the cards over, flipping them from the sides.

"Your past is the _Reverse Knight of Wands._ " she said, tsk'ing at him. "I suspected something about you... let me listen to the card..." she said as she closed her eyes.

 _"It was once that in moments of danger and duress that you felt good and important. You liked to feel needed, even if it meant you or others were suffering. You often rushed into things without forethought. At the same time, your enthusiasm was contagious and people sought your company and advice often. You may have taken a blind action that led to a great disappointment and revealed your insecurities."_

She opened her eyes.

"This card represents your past. You were careless and it almost cost you something dear. The past is rigid but there's hope in your future."

She then turned over the middle card.

"Your present is represented by the _upright Three of Swords._ "

She paused, taking a breath.

 _"After recent emotional wounds, you are lifting your head again. You are feeling confident and impermeable. You see through deception to the heart of the matter and do not need to rely on external affirmations. Although you may not be feeling open and lighthearted, you are ready to holistically integrate this newfound wisdom into your life."_

She tapped the card with a bony finger.

"There's someone you need in your life, young man, that is just on the edge of your reality. There's obstacles keeping them from you but with the knowledge in your own heart you can help let them in."

Finally she flipped the last card and gasped.

"Your future is _The Lovers: upright._ " she grinned a wide, toothy smile and grabbed Yuuri's cold, clammy hands in her warm, withered ones.

 _"You are on the verge of a new relationship, one that can be boundless and offer deep love perhaps even to last a life time. However, you must be cautious of the doubts you hold in your heart and the challenges around you. If you focus on your own goals you'll be sure to succeed in securing a lifetime of happiness."_

She laughed then and it vibrated through Yuuri's core.

"Let that person in, and don't be selfish. You'll do just fine."

"T-thank you... I don't know what to say... That was amazing." Yuuri said, as the woman let go of him and stood. "Don't flatter me, young man. Just listen to the cards. Come, come-" she motioned and Yuuri followed her back into the main room. "You may stay here as long as you like, we close late." she said, settling down into her overstuffed chair that sat behind a low counter-space.

"T-thank you! You've been very kind- I really should get going though..." Yuuri smiled, looking out the window once more. It was still drizzling but Yuuri felt confident he could make it. Besides, he was already wet- so it wasn't a problem.

"Take care." she said, waving him off as Yuuri ginned and left the shop.

Wow... he'd never had his fortune read before!

 _'That was so bizarre!'_ he thought to himself as he began to jog along the side walk- even though it was miserable outside Yuuri felt invigorated.

There was someone waiting for him to let them in... Yuuri had to admit the entire reading he couldn't stop thinking about Conrad. Perhaps... perhaps it was fated to be? Perhaps Yuuri was thinking too hard about who Conrad said he was in love with? Perhaps that person could be none other than himself?

The instant the thought echoed in his mind, Yuuri's entire mood turned sour as he slowed his jog and stared forlornly down the long road ahead of him.

 _What was he thinking?_

Conrad had said it himself hadn't he? That he was in love with someone already? It was stupid to think that person was him- if he asked Conrad, _'Is the person you're in love with me?'_ he'd surely be crushed when the man gave him that patient father-like smile that said: _'Aww, you're cute but so naive'_

It'd do nothing but hurt him to try.

"It's just a phony fortune reading." he grumbled to himself, picking up his walking pace, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "I should just be happy he's my godfather, besides... he's probably in love with Yozak." Yuuri made a face unintentionally.

Yozak was nice and all- Yuuri saw him as a true friend. However, the thought of seeing him intimately embrace Conrad, or hug or k-kiss him... made Yuuri so upset that he wanted to just curl up and die. It made sense though... they'd shared nearly a hundred years of history with each other- they always had each other's backs and they were such good friends... even if Conrad did occasionally yell at the other man.

They were comrades, and their closeness and history felt impenetrable to Yuuri.

Suddenly, Yuuri's phone began to vibrate in his pocket as he fished it out- trying to shield it with his other hand from the rain.

Murata texted him!

 **[[I just got back. Everything is fine in Shin Makoku, Lord Weller is safe.]]**

Yuuri growled in frustration at his friend's response. Sure, he was happy that Shin Makoku was okay- but what the hell Murata!? How could he be so sneaky!?

 **[[Are you sure?]]** he wrote back, **[[Did you talk to Conrad?]]**

He waited.

 **[[Yes.]]**

Liar! _Auuughhh_ he was going to strangle his friend when he saw him!

 **[[You're such a liar Ken, I know Conrad's on Earth. We went to Akihabara today.]]** He wrote, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

He didn't care about his friend's reply- he'd talk to the other boy later. For now- Yuuri saw his house in the distance and picked up his pace.

* * *

[11] 32,000 yen is roughly $300 USD :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Shout out to Paix:** Ahhhh, I thought no one would notice- much less call me out on my lack of finishing things. LOL Sorry~! I'll try harder!  
This update is for you. :) Thanks for the reviews and loyal reading!

* * *

After getting changed into some fresh clothes, Conrad joined Yuuri's mother in the kitchen to help her with dinner.

She was busy making his favorite- or so she had said. His favorite was simply her signature chunky curry which he assumed was everyone's favorite when it came to Jennifer's cooking.

Miko's eyes lit up as he entered the room.

"Oh! I'm glad his clothes still fit you! Here, Con-chan- here's an apron. Would you like to chop vegetables?" She asked as he gave her his best smile, putting on the apron that had so many frills Yozak would be jealous.

"I would love to."

As he chopped vegetables, Miko chatted on about how Yuuri was doing on Earth and how Shouri was doing and how much they had all missed Conrad, mentioning repeatedly that the man should visit more often.

"I know," he laughed. "I wish I could visit more often..."

"I'm sure they keep you busy in your world." she said and Conrad nodded in agreement, plopping the sliced vegetables into a pot. "They do keep me busy..."

 **~Ding~Dong~**

They were suddenly interrupted by the door bell as Miko gave Conrad a sideways glance. No one rang the doorbell here: unless it was a guest.

" _Coming~!_ " She sang as she bustled to the door. Conrad simply watched her go.

"Oh! Ken-chan and Jose! Come in, come in- it's raining. What are you both doing here? " She asked and Conrad frowned upon hearing this, though he hid it well once they came into view. "We were just in the neighborhood and decided to stop in." Jose smiled as he caught sight of his friend, cooking in the pinkest apron he'd ever seen.

"Hey- I thought you were back at the hotel? Weren't you laying low? I take it the kid know's you're here, then?"

"Ah, yes..." Conrad said with a smile and Miko blinked a few times.

"Yuuri just texted me." Ken said with a smile, putting his phone in his pocket. "I'm guessing something happened and you couldn't stay hidden." he said cheerfully.

Conrad noticed Miko's confusion and gave her a reassuring look. "Yes, I had meant to keep me being here a surprise, but things turned out differently. I met up with Yuuri last night." this seemed to ease Miko's mind as she lit back up in excitement.

"Yuu-chan and Shou-chan are heading home now." she said with a smile. "Why don't you both stay for dinner? Ken-chan you can help us cook if you'd like!"

They agreed easily and Ken quickly adorned a similar apron to Conrad's (only in cheerful yellow) as he stood next to the man- helping him prepare the sauce as Miko chatted with Jose.

"What happened? Yuuri seemed pretty upset in the text messages he sent me." Ken said in low tones to the taller man.

"He was upset?" Conrad said, looking down at the dark haired teen.

"Yeah- was everything alright when you went to Akihabara? I just got back from Shin Makoku a few hours ago. Everything is going well back home, Yozak says hello and that he hates you for leaving him with all of your work with the trainees."

Conrad simply rolled his eyes and gave Ken a rueful grin. "I'll be sure to apologize to him in person later." he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. Ken laughed, before leaning against the counter with both hands. "So what happened in Akihabara?"

"I went spent most of the day with his majesty. I was separated from Yuuri for a moment when Shouri approached me and tried to punch me. He told me to leave and that he'd take Yuuri home so... I left." he said all of this with a neutral tone, his face held no emotion as he peeled a potato.

"Wow, he really threw a punch at you?" Ken said, raising his eyebrows at the knight. "Did he say why?"

Conrad shook his head as he locked eyes with Murata. "No, just that I'm a bastard. Perhaps... he thinks I tried to make a pass at Yuuri." Ken was quiet for a moment as he glanced over at Yuuri's mother- still deep in conversation.

"Well... did you?"

"No." he shook his head. "Though his majesty was being a little... informal..."

"That might have done it." Ken said with a shrug. "That man's weird about his little brother. It's pretty obvious he doesn't like you." Conrad nodded. He was familiar with the feeling of being disliked. It didn't bother him that Shouri didn't like him, just that the man thought he was trying to do wrong by Yuuri. He was still kicking himself over everything that happened in Dai Cimaron. He couldn't bring himself to hurt the boy ever again, his heart simply wouldn't be able to take it.

"Well, dinner's going to be interesting then, isn't it?" Ken said to Conrad as Jennifer rejoined them in the kitchen, humming happily.

"How so, Ken-chan?" she asked lightly, pouring rice into their modest rice cooker.

Just then, the front door unlocked and the sound of heavy, sopping wet footsteps filled the room.

Shouri was home.

He was alone and looked miserable as his mother called out to him. Conrad looked to see if Yuuri was following him and when he didn't see his king he dropped the potato in his hand.

"Where's Yuuri?"

"What is he doing here?" Shouri snapped, his eyes narrowing as he looked the other over.

"Is he... _wearing my clothes...?_ " he asked in disbelief.

"Oh boy." Murata sighed to himself. "Here we go~"

* * *

It was dark out as Yuuri approached the front door to his home, just before he entered- he stopped dead in his tracks, hand hovering over the door knob.

Oh, great.

He heard nothing but shouting from the other side.

Was Shouri arguing with his dad again about Yuuri's grades? Shouri always started arguing with them about how they're too lenient on him and how they need to be stricter with him about his studies. Or perhaps they were arguing about how Shouri acted and perhaps his parents were defending Yuuri for running away from Shouri at the train station...

Regardless it didn't sound good and Yuuri contemplated just going to Conrad's hotel room and begging the man to keep him there until it all blew over or perhaps even going back to the cozy fortune teller's shop to hide out.

No... he was a king! Right?

He could face his family... Wolfram would surely call him a wimp if he couldn't even face Shouri and his parents.

So, Yuuri took out his house key with a sigh and turned it in the lock, stepping out of the rain and into the entryway of his childhood home. Immediately his ears were invaded by nothing but noise as his eyes widened upon the scene before him. Right in the middle of his living room, his older brother and none other than Conrad, (wearing a frilly apron...?) were shouting in each-other's faces.

Jose was physically holding Shouri back as Ken stood between the two men, his hands pressed against Conrad's chest as he tried to talk to the brunette. His mother stood nearby, she was talking in a worried tone to someone on the phone.

When she noticed he'd entered the room she gasped, immediately tossing the phone onto the couch. "Yuu-chan! Oh, we were so worried! Shou-chan said you ran off and no one could find you! We called your phone, but it just kept going to voicemail- are you alright?" she said all of this as she made her way to him, hugging him tightly, even though he was soaked to the bone.

"Haaa- sorry mom..." He trailed off, feeling guilty. He hadn't been in the mood to talk so he didn't answer... "What in the world is going on in here?" he asked as Conrad made eye contact with him. His knight immediately looked relieved, the tension dropping from his shoulders. However, his face was still set in anger, jaw clenched as he took the apron off and handed it to Ken.

"Mou~ Yuuri is here, and he's alright. Shou-chan can you apologize to Con-chan so we can eat dinner?" Miko said, ever the peace-maker as she tried to calm everyone down.

"APOLOGIZE?" Shouri said through gritted teeth. "You want me to apologize!?"

Conrad only sighed, closing his eyes. Yuuri noted that whatever argument they had been having: his godfather was finished with it. He then took a step back, picking up the phone that had been dropped.

Yuuri was here and he was alright that's all Conrad cared about. He was about to leave to go find Yuuri himself when the boy had walked through the front door. Now, he just wanted to make things right with Yuuri's mother for shouting in her home.

"Is this about the emergency?" Yuuri asked, looking at Conrad with a worried face. "Is that why Jose is here, did something happen?"

"Eh? What emergency?" Jose asked and Conrad's eyes darted briefly between Jose and Ken. Jose must have caught the hint in Conrad's eyes because he was quick to interject. "Oh! Yeah- um.. no- that's resolved ahaha~!" he said, still holding Shouri's arm in a vice grip. "I'm here for dinner- Ken asked if he could see me so he tagged along."

Yuuri felt like everyone was hiding something from him as he watched Shouri roughly shake off Jose's grip.

"Let go of me!" he snapped.

"Shouri- we obviously need to talk. Why don't we go for a walk?" Conrad offered, Yuuri watched the colors change on Shouri's face as the room fell silent for a moment.

"Ohh... but it's raining outside... perhaps you could talk things out here...?" Miko tried, as she led Yuuri by the shoulder to the bathroom down the hall. "Get undressed Yuu-chan I'll bring you some fresh clothes." she said to him, petting her son's hair. "Is this about your stupid idea, Shouri!?" Yuuri shouted suddenly over his mother's shoulder, locking eyes with his older brother. "About how you think Conrad's a manipulative jerk?"

" _Yuu-chan!_ " his mother's voice rose suddenly and Yuuri flinched. "That's enough, let them sort themselves out, you get changed!" There wasn't much room to argue when his mother used that tone so Yuuri just gave his brother a glare as he went into the bathroom to get undressed. Jennifer passed by the living room on her way upstairs as he stopped to address the tangle of men.

"Jose, Ken please set the table. Con-chan, Shou-chan if you're going to talk please, take an umbrella and Con-chan-" she turned towards the man.

"Let it only be a talk. Nothing violent, please."

"Yes, Jennifer." Conrad said, as she disappeared up the steps.

"I'm not talking to you." Shouri hissed. "I'm going to my room."

"To pout?" Ken teased as he followed Jose to the kitchen to help serve plates.

" _Tch!_ " was all the older man offered as a response to Murata's quip, turning to retreat up the stairs to the safety of his room. However, Conrad was quick to hook an arm in his as he spun the shorter man to face him.

"We need to talk, Shouri."

"Let go of me or I'm going to punch you out, right here."

"I'll let go when you agree to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

"Why don't we start with why you think I'm manipulative?"

" **Let.** **Go.** " he said, lowering his voice so it was just between them.

"Shouri, please. We don't have to talk, let's just walk so your mother can have some peace of mind."

Shouri's fist was clenched so tightly he could swear his nails were breaking skin as he locked eyes with Conrad.

 _Damnit._

* * *

It was still drizzling as the two men made their way outside, Shouri holding an umbrella and Conrad wearing a rain coat with the hood up, lagging a few steps behind the other. There was no way Shouri was going to share the umbrella with him- even if he wasn't raised in Japan. [12]

This was fine: being wet meant nothing to the soldier.

"How long do we have to do this." Shouri said as Conrad looked out into the night with disinterest settled in his eyes.

"Not long. Imagine a heart felt conversation and when it ends we'll turn back."

"It'd be over before it began." Shouri grumbled. "I'll never have a conversation like that with you."

Conrad fought the urge to laugh as he leveled his voice.

"Ah... _never?_ " it came out a tad sarcastic and it made Conrad wince. Rarely did he allow words to slip out that he didn't intend to say. He'd honestly meant to be more strategic with that response.

" **Never.** " Shouri confirmed and Conrad nodded solemnly.

"Not that I mind," Conrad started, his voice airy and light, "You hating me... but am I allowed to know why?"

"Knowing won't make a difference." Shouri shot back and Conrad grinned, even though Shouri couldn't see it.

"It's more for personal reasons. I'm keeping a tally."

Shouri shuffled the umbrella over his shoulder, taking off his glasses to clean them. "Tally?" he had to ask.

"A tally of all the different reasons people come to hate me. It paints an interesting picture." the man was joking but it made Shouri's anger heighten anyway.

He thought it was funny that people hated him? How many people hated him? Enough to actually form a tally system or was that just a stupid joke? Shouri at least knew he wasn't alone... He was confident there were others on this world and the next who hated Conrad Weller as much as he did.

"You're an asshole. Tally that." Shouri spat and Conrad couldn't contain his laughter anymore as he let out a chuckle, trying futilely to hide it behind intermediate coughing.

"Laugh it up but it's true." Shouri continued over the man's antics. "I'm sure there's plenty of people who feel the same way."

"Well, you're quite right. _'You're an asshole.'_ has gotten quite a few notches on my list. Care to enlighten me as to why you think that?"

Shouri shrugged but said nothing.

"Perhaps... it's because of my relationship with Yuuri?" Conrad questioned, hesitantly. At this point, he knew he was metaphorically tapping the snake with a stick.

 _ **WOOSH:**_ Conrad leaned back just in time to miss the collide of Shouri's fist yet again.

Ah, so there it was: the man's trigger. Conrad hadn't expected to find it so easily.

" _What 'relationship'!?_ " the man's voice pierced through the night and Conrad took one large step back.

"The word relationship doesn't strictly mean romantic..." he reminded the other who's face was quickly going red.

"Then ENLIGHTEN ME, what is the nature of your relationship with my little brother!? Oh, and don't lie, that'd be immoral- which I'm sure you care about seeing that you're interested in a _teenage boy_." He barked and Conrad tilted his head.

"You think I'm going to lie?" He asked and Shouri's grip on the umbrella tightened.

"What reason do you have to tell me the truth."

"Why wouldn't I tell the truth?"

"Because you're an ASSHOLE!" he shouted and Conrad shook his head.

"Asshole or not, I have no reason to lie. Yuuri is my king and Godson. I love him. Whatever path he takes- whoever he may marry... I'll be beside him every step of the way."

" **I fucking knew it!** " Shouri shouted, throwing the umbrella down on the street much like his little brother had done the night before. "Screw peaceful talks, I'm kicking your ass right here, right now!" he ground out and Conrad's eyes only turned sad as his shoulder's slumped a bit, taking another step away from the younger man.

"You really want to fight me...?"

 _ **WOOSH:**_ the second punch was dodged as Conrad backed up again, eyes focused and calm.

Shouri's swings were wild and full of anger, he could see them clear as day, long before they ever came close to making an impact.

"I said I loved him, but that doesn't mean he loves me..."

 _ **WOOSH:**_ the third came and went.

"Shut up!" Shouri's piercing voice echoed out into the night.

"Even if he does love me,"

 _ **WOOSH:**_ Shouri advanced just as quickly as Conrad retreated unable to keep up.

"I don't think we could be together..."

 _ **WOOSH:**_ his fifth attack left him off-balance as he stumbled forward into the soldier causing Conrad's to gently grip Shouri's upper arm to recenter him.

CRACK!

In that moment, Shouri took advantage of Conrad's kindness to deliver a left-handed uppercut that connected with the underside of the man's jaw. Shouri heard a satisfying click of teeth upon impact, causing Conrad to release him immediately, stepping back for the umpteenth time- putting more distance between them.

The man didn't look surprised, just a tad disappointed as he held his hand up to gently touch his jaw, feeling the tender spot growing there. The impact had knocked his hood off of his head, exposing his hair to the drizzling rain.

"Wouldn't it be wrong...?" Conrad mumbled mostly to himself as Shouri gave him an exasperated look.

"You're really fucked up to even ask me that." he spat as Conrad eyed the ground at Shouri's feet.

"You really want me to fight back, don't you." Conrad stated flatly and Shouri only clenched his fists once more.

"If you're not a coward." He hissed back making Conrad's lips twitch.

"Even though your mother didn't want violence?"

"She doesn't know that you're in love with her son." Shouri said, taking a step towards the soldier. "If she knew, she'd beat you herself."

" _Ah..._ " A small puff of breath escaped him as Conrad locked eyes with Shouri. The comment struck a chord within him. He'd thought the very same thing many times... but it was different hearing it come from outside his own head.

It was wrong... not to love Yuuri but to reciprocate any romantic feelings (if they existed) that the teen may hold for him.

"If you truly want to fight me-" Conrad announced after a moment of silence, holding his arms out at his sides, taking slow deliberate steps backwards. "...You'll have to catch me first."

With that, Conrad did the unexpected: he turned on his heel and took off running.

Shouri didn't even have a moment to think as he watched the man dart off into the night.

This filled Shouri's veins with pulsing hot adrenaline. That infuriating man was _taunting him, s_ ilently saying: _'If you think you can defeat me. Show me.'_ he was making Shouri _chase him_ just to have a shot at beating him senseless.

After dodging almost all of Shouri's attacks this stupid taunt only made the younger man's blood boil even more. His mind's eye flashed back to his demeaning dream about the island and how the other man kept besting him at everything. How he'd won Yuuri's affections and how he'd rubbed it in Shouri's face.

 **Fuck that.** He was going to catch Weller and beat him at his own game. He'd show him that he couldn't do as he wished when it came to Shouri's family. It was about time he learned that Shouri Shibuya wasn't a force to be reckoned with. Yuuri deserved a protector that didn't have ulterior motives. Shouri could be that protector, his little brother didn't need Conrart Weller.

With that, Shouri took off running, his foot falls echoing loudly in his ears as he chased the man through the dark, wet streets of Japan.

This time, there weren't any obstacles between Shouri and his goal: unlike his chase with Yuuri earlier that day. This time, anger fueled him propelling him forward like a freight train as he charged onward, slowly but surely gaining on the older man. The chase was going better than Shouri had anticipated, within a few minutes Weller was almost within reach- at least... until he took a sharp turn and headed down a narrow path into a cemetery and Shouri's feet stuttered as he caught himself just before entering the hall of densely packed tombs.

"It's only a cemetery." He heard the older man's smooth voice echo out, playful and secretive.

"Bastard." Shouri murmured under his breath as he slowly entered the burial ground, cautiously making his way through the graves. He couldn't hear anything but his own ragged breaths and the slight patter of rain against smooth, polished headstones. The air was too still and it made Shouri's hair stand on end.

"You're going the wrong way." Conrad's voice cut through the silence, making Shouri stop. He glanced around but couldn't trace it's origin.

"Stop playing games! Is this how you became a great soldier? By running away and hiding?" he spat, listening intently to trace the man's reply.

"You think I'm a great soldier?" Conrad's sweet, soft voice echoed back and made Shouri see red. He wanted to scream and throw a tantrum at how infuriating the other man was. How did Yuuri see anything redeeming in this man!?

"Fuck you." Shouri grit out, "You're nothing but a coward."

"You're scary." Conrad said with no sincerity at all, making Shouri's face grow red with embarrassment and anger. However, the more the brunette spoke the closer Shouri got until he could see the slightest outline of the man's sleeve behind a headstone.

"My brother will never love you the way you want him to." Shouri said into the silence. He paused when he heard nothing, smirking to himself. He hoped his words were hurtful to the other man. "He's just a kid and you're a sick pervert."

Conrad still didn't say anything in return but Shouri didn't care- he'd confirmed the other's location. Two steps ahead and to the left, Conrad was standing motionless behind a headstone. The slightest hint of his coat sleeve could be seen through the darkness.

He'd won.

In the blink of an eye, Shouri reached out and grabbed the man's arm, turning the corner he slammed his right fist square into the other's chest.

Pain.

White, hot pain flooded Shouri's mind as his entire arm went numb. His fist cracked against solid stone causing him to reel back in shock, his hand throbbing angrily to life.

Shouri's eyes widened and then narrowed at the empty coat sleeve he held in his free hand as he inspected the smooth marble headstone he'd just punched head-on. God damn-it, he'd broke his fucking hand. Shouri could feel the bone on the outside of his right hand closest to his little finger had snapped down the middle, as he threw the coat on the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs into the still air:

" **FUCKING ASSHOLE!** Show yourself-!" His voice cracked at the end as he glanced around, hearing nothing but the pounding of his own heart in his ears. It took him several minutes to realize he was alone, the cemetery was empty save for himself.

That bastard had left his coat as a decoy and had escaped without a sound, tricking Shouri into hurting himself.

He'd broken his goddamn hand for nothing.

Fuming, he stepped on the coat as he headed towards home. He hadn't wanted to fight the man in front of Yuuri and his mother but it was too late for that now. Shouri was ready to do whatever it took to remove _Lord Weller_ from their lives. It was honestly for the best, even if they hated him for it: they would eventually see that a life without him was better lived and that Weller was just using them for his own dark desires.

* * *

[12] In Japan, if two people share an umbrella, it is called the "Ai-Ai gasa". 'Ai' means 'love' and 'gasa' is the variation of the word 'Kasa' in Japanese with the meaning 'Umbrella'. Two people, especially a man and a woman, sharing an umbrella in rain is considered a symbol of romance in Japan.


	13. Chapter 13

The wet grass was crisp and crunched softly beneath his shoes as Conrad walked the short distance back to his hotel room.

This had been the third time in the span of 30 minutes that he'd traversed this path due to indecision. After leaving the cemetery he'd begun to head back to Yuuri's house, only to change his mind and head towards his hotel, only to change his mind once more and head back to Yuuri's house...

Only to change his mind once more.

Being indecisive had it's consequences: his hair and clothes were thoroughly drenched due to the extended amount of time he'd spent wandering back and forth in the rain. It was uncharacteristic of him- his brothers would certainly scold him if they knew how he'd been acting of late.

 _'He's just a kid and you're a sick pervert.'_

Shouri's words kept running through the soldier's mind. Conrad was old enough and wise enough to know that Shouri had been trying to get under his skin but the words had stuck all the same. Regardless of how distracted his thoughts currently were, his instincts were still as sharp as ever; so when he heard footsteps approaching from afar, Conrad took notice immediately and slowed down to face their owner.

 _"Lord Weller!"_

It was Ken Murata who emerged through the rain, jogging slowly towards him.

"Geika." he greeted, narrowing his eyes at the teenager, "You're soaking wet," he said with a concerned edge to his voice, "why didn't you bring an umbrella, highness?"

"Shouri took the only umbrella and you took Shouma's only raincoat." Ken smiled as he eyed the soldier. "I see you're no better off than me, so you don't have room to talk."

Conrad smiled at that, looking down at himself... he supposed that was true.

"Did you come to collect me?" he asked, motioning for the teenager to walk with him as he continued towards the hotel. "No," Ken shook his head. "I actually went for a walk right after you both left to catch some water-type Pokemon." he said cheerfully.

Conrad gave him a skeptical look.

"Highness, you expect me to believe you came all the way out here for that?"

"I did!" he insisted, turning his phone towards the older man, "Look at how many Magikarp candy I have now!"

Conrad still didn't believe the Sage but he let it be. "Did you see Shouri?" he asked and Murata tilted his head down, the glare from his phone illuminating his glasses. "Not at all. Did you both fight?"

"No." Conrad replied softly, "However, Shouri wants to so I've decided to return to the hotel and wait until he's calmed down. I'd love to stay for dinner but I think it's for the best." Ken nodded, "I suppose you're right if Shouri isn't going to let it go... Doesn't he know where your hotel room is?"

"He does..." Conrad replied thoughtfully.

"Would you like to stay at my house instead?" Ken asked, earning an interesting quirk of a brow from the soldier.

"I appreciate the offer but I don't believe that's necessary, highness-" he was interrupted by Ken taking his keys out and shoving it into the older man's pocket. "My parents are traveling abroad, they're rarely ever home so my house is empty and the fridge is full. There's even some clothes that'll fit you in my parents room. So I think it'd be for the best," Ken said knowingly, "If you just stay at my place."

When Conrad didn't respond, Ken placed a hand on the man's elbow.

"I need some time to talk to Shibuya. As soon as he sees you haven't returned it's going to be difficult keeping him from finding you." Ken said seriously.

Ah, so there it was: Shouri wasn't necessarily the problem, seeing that he could lock the door and refuse to speak to the man- but he couldn't leave the door locked when it came to Yuuri. Not to mention, even though Conrad adored Yuuri, he wasn't sure he'd could talk to his godson at the moment. He... had a lot to think about. Perhaps the Great Sage had known this before even he had and was setting the scene for a better outcome than he could have predicted.

Regardless, the better choice was a clear one.

"Thank you." he finally said, accepting the keys and stopping in the middle of the road. "Where am I going?"

Ken laughed.

"Let me see your phone, I'll put my address into your GPS." he said with a grin while Conrad handed the device over. "On your way to my house there's several Poke-stops." the boy said absently, "You're already drenched, perhaps you should take your time." Conrad didn't understand why the Sage was telling him this but if Ken wanted him to stall for time- so be it.

Once the route was set, he turned back to face the younger man. "Will you be alright heading back on your own, highness?" he asked and Ken grinned secretively.

"Let's hope so!" he said, turning on his heel. "I'll be fine, Lord Weller. I have your number to call if I need a hero." his tone was playful, yet honest and it made the knight smile.

He watched until Ken was out of sight before he began following the map on his screen.

* * *

When Yuuri exited the restroom, dressed comfortably in dry clothes, he was shocked to see the house was empty save for Jose. The man was casually setting the table- placing down the last of the silverware alone.

"Wha- where is everyone?" he asked, finding it hard to keep irritation from entering his voice.

"Heya," Jose waved, "Conrad and Shouri are taking a walk, Ken followed to keep an eye on them- your mother is doing laundry and your father is on his way home." he said in one breath before inspecting his handi-work with a smile.

"O-oh... When are they going to be back?"

Jose shrugged. "Hopefully before the curry gets cold."

Just then his mother made her way down the stairs, she looked stressed but she smiled at him anyway. "Yuu-chan!" she said, approaching her son and giving him another hug, before holding him firmly by his shoulders. "Listen to me: do not yell at your brother. I don't want you both arguing when we have guests." she said seriously, making Yuuri roll his eyes.

"I wouldn't have to yell at Shouri if he wasn't _being such a jer_ -"

" **Yuu-chan**."

"H-hai... S-sorry mama..." Yuuri said, deflating as he pulled away from her to take a seat at the table. Jose and Miko did the same before his mother addressed him once more."Furthermore, you know I don't pry when it comes to your personal affairs," she said, ignoring the fact that Jose was with them. "But don't you think it's about time you had a talk with your Godfather about... what's been going on?"

" _Ehh?_ " Yuuri made a face as his eyes darted between the two adults. "What do you mean, 'w _hat's been going on'?_ "

"Yuu-chan." she said, tilting her head at him and giving him a knowing look. "I mean, _what's been going on._ "

"Mom," Yuuri said seriously, wishing the floor would open up and eat him alive. "Nothing is _'going on'_ between me and C-Conrad." he managed to say, giving Jose a desperate look. "Alright," she said with a huff, "I'm only concerned about my little boy."

"No need for concern, everything is fine!" he replied just as the front door opened to reveal the tall frame of his father.

" _I'm home~_ " Shouma said tiredly as his wife gave him a wave. "Hello dear, Yuuri's home!" she said happily, "Jose, Ken-chan and Con-chan are going to join us for dinner tonight!"

" **The hell he will,** " a voice snapped and Yuuri's eyes widened when Shouri barged in after his father, soaking wet and seething. "Ah yes," Shouma said with a heavy sigh. "I picked our son up on the way home, he was walking alone in the rain."

"Oh, Shou-chan..." Miko sighed as Yuuri immediately jumped to his feet, addressing his brother.

"Where's Conrad?"

"He's not here? That's surprising." Shouri said, "Smart man."

" _Where is he,_ Shouri!?"

"Hey! Everyone calm down!" Shouma said firmly, "Honey, I'm sorry but I have to take Shouri to the hospital we think that he broke his hand."

Miko gasped as she made her way to her son's side, "Shouri! What happened? I told you, no violence!"

"I was just defending myself," he hissed as his mother inspected his swollen hand. "That's probably why that man isn't here- he won't show his face after what he did to me."

"You're lying!" Yuuri growled, pushing past his family.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Shouma asked as Yuuri flung the front door open.

"I'm going to find Conrad-! You better not have hurt him, Shouri." Yuuri snapped, ignoring the looks his family was giving him.

 _"Heya, Shibuya!"_ Yuuri nearly had a heart-attack when he opened the front door to find Ken inches from his face. " _Jesus,_ Murata!" he groaned, "Is Conrad with you?"

"Nope!" he replied cheerfully, "Lord Weller is M.I.A., which is fine because where he is isn't important right now." the teenager said, leading Yuuri back inside by the crook of his arm. "Let go of me, I'm going to find him." Yuuri said, trying to forcefully pry himself from Ken's grip.

"You're staying here, Yuuri." his father reminded him sharply.

"Come here, Shouri let me look at your hand." Jose, (who's profession was that of a physician) said as he led the younger man to the kitchen table. He cleared aside some of the dishes so he could lay the man's hand on the flat surface to inspect it more closely.

"Boxer's fracture." Jose said, prodding at it carefully. "You must have punched something real hard, huh?"

 _"Tsk,"_ Shouri huffed, turning his eyes away from Jose's accusatory gaze.

"It's definitely broken... If you don't mind, Jennifer, Shouma- I can drive Shouri and Yuuri to the hospital so we can get this checked out. You just got home from work, right?"

"That's kind of you, Jose." Shouma said in a resigned way. "If you bring them to the hospital I'd like to track down Mr. Weller." he grinned ruefully. "I need to have a word with him."

"If you're going to find Conrad, I'm coming too!" Yuuri cut in but was immediately shot down by his father's stern face.

"You're going with your brother to the hospital and I mean it. I won't have you stay here at the house because I know as soon as we leave you'll be running around in the rain- it's late, Yuuri. I will find him."

"Shibuya, let's go to the hospital, okay?" Ken nudged his friend softly, "I'm sure Lord Weller is fine- he's a capable guy..." he then dropped his voice to a whisper: _"Do you really think Shouri of all people could put a scratch on Conrad?"_ he murmured into Yuuri's ear.

No- Yuuri didn't think Shouri could have _physically_ hurt his knight... He sighed, defeated.

"Get your coat, dear. I'll start the car." Shouma said in low tones to his wife as Shouri and Jose got up from the table and headed towards the door.

"Comon," Ken smiled, "You and I need to talk too, right?"

Yuuri couldn't argue with that, he had a lot to say to his so-called 'Wise Man.'

* * *

Within minutes Shouma and his wife had departed in their black sedan; determined to find Conrad- while Jose, Shouri, Ken and Yuuri all piled into Jose's silver cruiser and made their way to the hospital.

It was dark and the roads were wet and empty.

Thankfully the lack of light made it easy for Yuuri to ignore his brother and vice-versa as they drove along. The atmosphere in the car was tense and quiet. Ken was immersed in his phone, reminding Yuuri to take out his own so he could text Conrad.

 **[[Where are you? Shouri has a broken hand and we're going to the hospital. Are you OK?]]**

He sent it and waited, his heart racing along with his thoughts. When no reply came, he sent another text:

 **[[I'm not mad, Conrad I'm just really worried about you so please call me.]]**

After several minutes of nothing, Yuuri couldn't stand re-reading his stagnant text messages over and over, so he turned his phone off and waited, hoping the man had simply lost his phone or the battery had died instead of something more sinister.

* * *

Despite Ken telling him about the Poke-stops Conrad (for obvious reasons,) did not feel up to playing Pokemon Go. Instead, he walked slowly and took detours through parks and past closed store-fronts as he made his way to Ken's house. Passing through a park that held a small wooden bridge above a lazy river, he stopped and decided to sit on one of the many benches facing the water.

He needed a place to think.

His phone continually buzzed in his pocket as he got calls and texts from Yuuri and his parents. Feeling guilty about not answering them by Murata's request, Conrad held the power button on the side of his phone until it turned off and took a deep breath, resting his head in his hands.

He was in _love_ with _Yuuri._

Yuuri, who happened to be the owner of Julia's soul. Who happened to be his king and Godson. Who happened to be a mere seventeen years old. Who happened to be his brother's fiance. Who happened to be a boy. All of these things mattered for different reasons and held different levels of severity and consequences depending on which world they were applied to.

Conrad's heart was currently at war with his mind as he tried to convince himself out of the mess his emotions had put him in.

 _'No!'_ his mind cried.

 _'Yes!'_ his heart demanded.

 _'Idiot!'_ his mind hissed.

 _'Pain!'_ his heart warned.

Was it too late to throw himself in the river? Perhaps he could hide away in Shin Makoku- set out on a long journey with Yozak to escape the pressure for a while...

 _'Coward.'_ both his head and heart said in unison.

"I know..." he sighed, running a hand down his face. Yuuri didn't deserve that, for him to turn and run. It was time to approach the chopping block. No, the pitcher's mound, that sounded... less hostile. Yuuri deserved his honesty, anything less was an insult.

He just didn't want to hurt anyone anymore... and that included himself.


	14. Chapter 14

_This chapter mostly explores the (side) character's thoughts and sets up the scene for the final 2(?) chapters! We're nearing the finale though, so expect some wonderful ConYuu soon!_

 _Thank you for the kind reviews, **YaoiBunny8702** , **Razzle162** and **Tsubasakura2**! :) You're all very sweet!_

* * *

Shouma stared wearily at the road before him.

It was dark and rainy yet driving took little effort. There was hardly anyone on the road at this hour. His wife sat next to him in a comfortable silence that had been tapering on and off with conversation.

He'd been driving home after a long day at work, expecting dinner from his loving wife and the company of his two boys when he was met with **this** instead. One angry kid with a broken hand and another angry kid with a god-father complex. To top it off the man of the hour, Conrad himself was missing.

 _Missing?_

What a joke! The world was that man's back yard. He was like a stray cat. You could release him in a foreign land with nothing but the clothes on his back and he would easily find a way to be right at home.

"So, we've checked the baseball park, the hotel, the jail..." Miko mused with a small smile. "But we're not really looking for Conrart, are we." she said, turning to face her husband more fully.

"Well," Shouma sighed. "I would like to talk to him..."

"That's true, but you mostly wanted Yuu-chan not to worry so he would resolve things with Shouri." she laughed, taking his hand and placing hers in it. "Such a good father."

"I can't believe they're arguing over _Conrad Weller_ of all people." Shouma sighed, shaking his head. "That man's like a bad penny. He shows up everywhere, stirring up hearts, making a scene..."

" _Haa~_ " Miko sighed dreamily, "He is like a prince on a white horse! My car broke down earlier today, remember? He showed up like a dream and rode home with me in a taxi, just like when Yuu-chan was born."

"See what I mean?" Shouma grumbled, though he gave his wife a wry smile. "Showing up everywhere, stirring up hearts..."

"You don't mean me," she laughed, scooting as close as she could in the confines of her husband's car so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "You mean _Yuu-chan_."

"Yes." Shouma sighed, leaning back into the leather seat as he slowed his speed way down, looking for a place to park so they could talk more deeply. "I've been meaning to ask him about it... but I'm no good at that sort of thing."

Jennifer giggled. "Yuu-chan isn't very open about how he feels... I tried talking to him about it already."

"Do you know how he feels?" Shouma asked, peering only briefly at his wife.

"Oh, you don't? He adores him. I think Yuu-chan has been falling in love with Con-chan for a long time now." she sighed, thinking back to the times she'd caught Yuuri swooning, fretting or sighing over the handsome brunette. She could still recall catching her innocent Yuu-chan with a broken heart after Conrart had defected to collect those awful boxes. She'd been quietly observing her son for the better part of two years now and had recognized the love in his eyes every time he looked at the older man.

Shoma stiffened, his hands clenched the steering wheel a bit tighter.

"I don't like it." he said quietly, "I can understand Shouri's distaste towards it all."

"Maa, I know you don't." Jennifer said, petting her husband's hand. "But remember the talk you and I had, before Yuu-chan was born?"

He couldn't forget.

"That place... their world is very different from ours. We agreed that whatever changes it brought about in Yuu-chan we would accept so long as he was safe. He is our son, but the only reason we have him in our lives is because of Con-chan. You and I both know how hard it was for him to give away her soul. Con-chan promised he would make sure Yuuri was safe and he's been keeping that promise... I think the love that's growing between them was unavoidable from the start."

"I feel like he planned it." Shouma whispered, unsure just how well he knew the brunette now that he knew the relationship that was growing between the man and his son. "I don't think so." Jennifer replied. "He's not a bad man. I don't know if he loves Yuu-chan... but I think he does. If he didn't why would Shouri be so upset, ne?"

"Didn't Conrart say..." Shouma spotted a park up ahead containing grassy planes and a small river. He pulled his car into a parking spot out front and shut the engine off allowing the sound of the rain to fill the cabin entirely. "He would never think to romantically pursue Julia's 'reincarnation' purely because they held her soul?"

"Yes." Miko nodded.

"So what now? Isn't he doing just that...?" Shouma said, irritation edging into his voice as he thought of the potential pain this truth could cause his son.

" _Shou-maaa!_ Do you really think Con-chan loves Yuuri just because he has her soul?"

"I don't know anymore..."

"For shame." she giggled once more, giving her pouting husband a large smile. "You and I are on the same page. You're worried that Con-chan will hurt Yuu-chan if his intentions aren't from the right place. I'm glad, you're worried about his well being, not the traits of who he's in love with."

"Honey, can you please stop calling him _'Con-chan'_ and while it's... weird. I don't particularly mind. I think we're both pretty open minded... the age thing kind of upsets me... But you're right, I just don't want Yuuri to get hurt from this."

"Mou... I'm so disappointed." She pouted, "Wolf-chan might not be my cute little son-in-law after all..." Shouma only grunted, rubbing his forehead as he looked out into the park they had stopped at.

"I knew he'd be trouble." Shouma murmured to himself, thinking of Lord Weller. "Ever since day one..."

"Mou, he respects you deeply." Jennifer said, "You don't see it? In the way he looks at you? He practically treats you like his own father."

"I taught him about baseball and to smoke cigarettes." he said absently, thinking of all the long hours he'd spent with the man. "So he was your _'practice son'_?" Jennifer laughed, "I'm glad you didn't teach Shouri or Yuuri that awful habit!"

"Baseball?"

"No, smoking! Obviously!" she laughed, "Baseball isn't an awful habit, even if it is a dirty sport..."

"Hmm... So long as my boys are happy,and you're happy..." he said at last squeezing her hand in his. "I think we can handle whatever comes our way."

She gave him a warm smile. They had always been a flexible couple.

They had to be in order to raise flexible sons, who would be able to take on seemingly impossible responsibility.

* * *

In the radiology department of the hospital, Shouri laid his arm on the smooth surface of the imaging unit that was going to take x-rays of his broken hand.

"What'd you hit?" the pretty nurse asked as she gently prompted him to turn his hand this-way or that.

Looking over at Yuuri who was sitting nearby, (wearing a heavy lead vest) Shouri shrugged, a thin blush on his cheeks.

"It doesn't matter."

"Well, whatever it was it was hard as stone, you really broke it good. I can tell without the x-rays. After they take a look inside your hand they can tell the extent of the damage."

She paused, looking Shouri in the eyes.

"Don't worry, we see these fractures a lot, they generally heal well."

"Thank you..." he said quietly. He wanted to ask for her number but he thought it was too embarrassing in front of Yuuri. Not to mention he wasn't really in the mood. "Alrighty! You can both wait in the room to the left, we'll come get you in just a bit." she said, turning the lights on.

As soon as she left, Shouri let out a sigh of relief as he sat on the plush examination table. Yuuri slumped wordlessly in a chair nearly, arms crossed glaring at the floor.

"You better not have hit him, Shouri." Yuuri murmured angrily.

Jose had dropped them off at the hospital before leaving (with Murata in tow) to go pick up fast-food for everyone. They'd said they would be back soon. In the meantime Yuuri was stuck in the one place he didn't want to be: with Shouri.

"You don't even care that I broke my hand?"

"Not if you broke it, hitting Conrad."

Shouri was quiet for a moment.

"You don't even know what he said about you."

Yuuri couldn't help but look up at that, eyeing Shouri suspiciously.

"What, did he call me names?" Yuuri asked sarcastically, knowing that whatever Conrad had said it couldn't be so bad that it warranted being hit.

"No. I don't think you should allow that man anywhere near you, Yuu-chan. I mean it."

The tone Shouri was using made Yuuri fidget.

"What'd he say...?"

"Some sick shit. It doesn't matter. Just trust me when I tell you he's no good for you."

"How can I trust you when you're acting so weird? When you won't tell me anything?" Yuuri said, feeling his anger rising. "You hated Conrad before all of this so why should I trust what you say about him!?"

"Because I'm your brother!" the older man hissed, "Does that not warrant your trust? If that man told you to trust his word, you would without question! Why then won't you trust me, your own brother?"

Yuuri was a little surprised at that, if only because it was true. He did trust Conrad's judgement resolutely. But it was different, wasn't it? Conrad's judgement usually made sure he didn't get killed. The man only wanted what was best for Yuuri and Shin Makoku.

"It's different." Yuuri said, looking away. "Conrad only wants what's best for me. But you... you only want what you think is best for me. You think what's best for me is to never go back to Shin Makoku and for me to stay in my room at the house forever!"

"How's that different? I just want you to be safe! Is that so bad?" Shouri grumbled, before examining his little brother's face. Yuuri had his cellphone in one hand, idly checking his text messages over and over again.

He had to ask.

"Don't tell me you have feelings for him, Yuu-chan."

Yuuri looked up from under his dark bangs, his eyes angled in annoyance. "What if I do? Then what?"

"I'll kill him." Shouri said, determination in his voice.

"You couldn't put a scratch on him." Yuuri said, aiming to kick his brother where it hurt. "He would crush you like a bug."

"So that's it then?" Shouri snapped, eyeing his little brother. "That's what all of this is about? You're have feelings for him, is that it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"You're in love with that psychopath!?"

"Shut up, Shouri." Yuuri grit out, his face and neck becoming heated with an angry flush of his skin.

"This is serious!" Shouri all but shouted, standing and coming closer to his little brother. "Are you really in love with him? When!? When did you become gay?"

"I'm not _gay-_ " Yuuri grit out, "I don't like men, just-"

"Just what!?"

"J-just-" he cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. "I don't like men, just... one-"

"One what? Tell me!"

"I just like Conrad!" Yuuri said, his face flushing for an entirely different reason. "It's not wrong! So don't look at me like I'm an idiot! Who I like and what I do is none of your business, Shouri!"

"Oh my god," Shouri said faintly. "I need to sit down." and sit down he did, right on the floor with his back pressed against the wall opposite of his brother. They sat in silence for a moment before Shouri took in a shaky breath.

"He's a grown man, that's sick Yuu-chan! You just wait until mom and dad find out. I'm not kidding, you're in deep shit. Dad is never going to let you go back with that man if he knows-"

"Shut up, Shouri!" Yuuri snapped, turning his phone off. "Why do you fucking care who I'm interested in!?"

"Watch your language!" Shouri chided.

"No! You're such a jerk! Dad won't find out anyway because I'm not going to tell him and you should mind your own fucking business! I'm tired of you trying to control my life, get your own!"

Shouri felt sick to his stomach.

"How long have you been w-with him, where you ever going to tell me?" he said angrily, bitter and hateful as he thought back to Akihabara. They'd been holding hands for goodness sake, how had he not seen this coming?

The truth was he did see it coming, he just hadn't wanted to believe it.

"W-we're not-" but Yuuri couldn't finish his sentence before the door to the waiting room opened once more. However, instead of a cute nurse, Jose was standing in the doorway with Ken hovering over his shoulder.

"Hey, we got food!" Jose said cheerfully. "It's not your mom's curry, but it'll fill you all the same." Ken looked over at Yuuri's hunched form, noting the extremely tense atmosphere in the room as he waved to his friend.

"Shibuya, they have a food court- you wanna eat with me and maybe we can talk for a bit?" He didn't really feel like talking, but Yuuri stood up anyway. He'd gladly eat with Murata if it meant he wouldn't be talking to his brother anymore.

"Yuu-chan wait-" Shouri said, trying to stand without disrupting his broken hand, but Yuuri brushed past him grabbing Ken by the wrist and dragging the other boy down the hall to the elevator.

"Let him go, it's alright." Jose said, patting Shouri on the shoulder.

"No, nothing is alright!" Shouri said in angry despair as he slumped into the chair Yuuri had vacated.

Jose smiled, closing the door and handing the younger man the bag of fast food.

"Wanna talk about it?"

* * *

Downstairs in the large, mostly empty food court, Yuuri and Ken sat across from each other and ate burgers. It was nearly midnight and barely anyone was around allowing them to talk and eat leisurely. Yuuri took several deep breaths as he tried to calm down and forget the talk he'd just suffered through. He couldn't believe he actually told Shouri he was interested in Conrad _romantically._

But his brother pissed him off so much he felt the need to rebel and show Shouri he could make his own decisions- _'including who I want to d-date...'_ Yuuri thought, glaring down at his food with a blush on his face. "I'm so pissed." he finally said, running a hand through his shaggy bangs.

"Your brother is kind of a handful." Ken mused, stuffing his face with fries.

"I'm pissed at you too, Murata!" he snapped, glaring at his friend.

" _Oh?_ " the other boy blinked owlishly as he chewed thoughtfully.

"Don't _'oh?'_ me! Why didn't you tell me Conrad was on Earth!? I nearly had a heart attack worrying about him!"

"Ahaha, sorry~!" Ken said, rubbing his hair sheepishly. "It's just, Lord Weller was kind of counting on me to keep it a secret."

"But why?" Yuuri sighed, picking at his fries. "Why'd he feel like it was okay to tell you, but not _me?_ "

Ken eyed their surroundings, ensuring they were practically alone before looking at his friend once more. Dark rings lined Yuuri's eyes as he scrubbed them with the back of his hand. He looked exhausted.

"Really, Shibuya?" Ken asked, his eyebrows tilting up sympathetically. "Do you really not know why he didn't want to tell you that he was here?"

"No, I don't." he grumbled, "Stop looking at me like that and just tell me, already! I hate when you're sneaky with me."

"Well, you know why he was here in the first place right? To learn more about Earth?"

"Y-yeah... he did tell me that." Yuuri subtly checked his phone once more, frowning when he didn't see any new messages.

"-and you know he wanted to know more about Earth because he wanted to be closer to you, right?"

"I guess..."

"Shibuya."

"What?" Yuuri looked up at Murata and made a face.

"Shibuya, _think._ "

"Oh my god, Murata if you don't tell me in the next five seconds-"

"I really think you should just _think about it_." Ken said, tapping a fry on the tray before him to shake the access salt off of it. "Have you tried analyzing Lord Weller's reasoning? Have you ever wondered why he would go out of his way to learn about Earth? Why he would suffer watching Shouri and Jose's Anime recommendations? Why he would walk all over Japan collecting digital Pokemon that he doesn't understand? Lord Weller seems like the kind of guy that does things for a reason and usually because it's important, right?"

Yuuri thought about it as he ate slowly, closing his eyes. Conrad wasn't really a random guy. Being in the military made him time-efficient. He was always prioritizing and organizing his tasks. It wasn't really in Conrad's nature to jump up and run away to Earth just to watch Anime. But Conrad had told him it was because he wanted to know more about Earth, to feel closer to him...

Yuuri's face contorted as he thought that last part over a few times.

"He said he just wanted to learn more about Earth so we could have more in common."

" _Because he...?_ " Murata urged, rotating his hand in mid air, waiting for Yuuri to fill in the blank.

"Is my godfather? Likes Pokemon? Was curious about Anime?"

"Oh my-" Murata sighed, fighting the urge to drag a hand down his face. "Since you won't say it, I think I should: he cares about you."

"I know he does-" Yuuri tried to say but Murata shook his head.

"No, you don't." he looked at his friend in the eye. "I'll say it again: he _reallllllyyy, realllllllyyy_ cares about you. Like, so much that he watched _Diabolik Lovers_ **[13]** because Shouri told him it was something you liked."

Yuuri looked up at that, eyes wide.

"No, you're kidding."

"I'm serious. Jose told me Lord Weller diligently watched all 12 horrendous episodes. He thought it was too hilarious to stop him. Jose finally told him that Shouri was just tricking him, but only after he finished watching it." Yuuri blanched, Shouri did not make poor Conrad watch that horrible disgraceful excuse of an anime! AND WORSE OF ALL: told Conrad that he _liked it._ Thank goodness Jose was around to save Conrad from Shouri's awful tricks.

With that, Ken stood, checking his phone. "I'm going to check on Jose and your brother, do you want to come along?" he asked and Yuuri shook his head.

"I think I need a break." he half-laughed half-sighed as he stood, taking the tray to the trash can. "I'm going for a walk."

"Alright." Murata smiled. "If you ask the front counter they'll probably lend you an umbrella."

Yuuri nodded as he watched his friend go before turning to do just that.

* * *

[13] _Diabolik Lovers_ is a really awful Anime series. It was actually rated one of the top 10 worst anime's of all time. If you've never watched it, save yourself and never do. It's about a girl in a mansion surrounded by several vampire dudes and she just runs from room to room being angsty and getting bitten. All the vampire dudes think she's useless (because she is) and the plot never changes, even for a moment, from it's super dramatic tone. The art looks super fancy but the actual plot and characters are horrible. Poor Conrad.


	15. Chapter 15

After borrowing an umbrella from the front desk, Yuuri decided to take a walk outside the hospital to get some fresh air and distract him from his fight with Shouri.

Pulling out his cellphone as he walked, he checked his messages once more to see if Conrad had texted him and couldn't help but feel sad when he saw no new notifications.

 _'I can't believe he hasn't messaged me yet. I really hope he's okay...'_ Yuuri sighed, opening his Pokemon Go! app. _'If I'm going to walk, I minus well hatch this egg...It's almost ready and it's taken me forever.'_ he thought numbly, following the walking path on the screen.

Up ahead was a park and it looked like someone had popped several lures in the area. He had to admit, he didn't really feel like playing Pokemon Go! right now, but if he turned his phone off he'd be left without anything to distract him from his thoughts.

At least like this, he felt like he was doing _something_ while he waited for his parents to call him and tell him they found his wayward knight.

He followed the path for several minutes until he began to approach a small decorative bridge that crossed over a river. He decided to stop on the bridge and enjoy the view as he thought about the past few days in detail.

 _'Have I been imagining things...?'_ he thought, staring at the picture of Conrad that was his phone background. _'I thought for sure Conrad and I were getting closer. We even held hands in Akihabara... Murata said Conrad cares a lot about me, but that doesn't mean he cares romantically... Shouri seems to think otherwise... what did Conrad say to him? It's driving me crazy.'_

Yuuri noticed the water beneath the bridge was shallow and filled with loose change.

'It must be an artificial water way that doesn't have fish for people to toss money into it.' he thought absently, digging into his pocket and pulling out his wallet.

"I'm suppose to make a wish, right?" Yuuri mumbled sarcastically as he flipped the coin into the creek with a satisfying splash. "I want Conrad to be okay." He said. "Please and thank you."

 _'So cheesy!'_ Yuuri thought. _'Tossing coins into wishing wells, er... creeks... if Conrad knew he'd definitely make a pun- something lame like, "You're tossing coins into wells for the **well-** being of a **Well** er?"_

He shuddered.

He turned to continue on his path when he caught sight of a man sitting on a bench three light posts away. Other than the two of them, the park appeared to be deserted.

 _'Auuuaaahhh, he must be homeless.'_ Yuuri thought, noticing the man didn't have a coat or umbrella. _'I feel really bad... This umbrella belongs to the hospital but... I think that man really needs it. Maybe I can give it to him and just give the hospital 500 yen?'_

Yuuri only hesitated for a moment before resolution settled in his chest. He would pay for the umbrella if he had to. It was the right thing to do. Approaching the man, he felt extremely awkward as he held the umbrella out to him, staring at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"E-excuse me sir, I wanted to give you my umbrella. It's very wet out and you look like you need it more than me, er... _eventhoughyou'reprobablyalreadysoaked..._ " Yuuri trailed off, holding the umbrella with white knuckles.

He was met with nothing but silence.

 _'S-so awkward! He's not taking it! Did he even hear me?!'_ Yuuri's mind shrieked with panic as he lifted the umbrella so he could see the man's face.

"Yuuri...?"

"CONRAD!?" Yuuri shouted, dropping the umbrella with shock. "I-I thought you were homeless!"

Conrad stood up instantly, grabbing the umbrella and holding it over Yuuri to shield him from the rain once more.

"Yuuri, what are you doing walking alone at this hour?"

"Excuse me, Lord Weller!?" Yuuri snapped, his hands landing on Conrad's chest. He wanted to shove the older man but his knight looked so miserable that Yuuri dug his fingers into Conrad's drenched shirt instead.

"Where have you been!? Everyone's been looking for you! My mom and dad are driving around checking on jails to see if you were arrested, I've been texting and calling you for an hour! Shouri broke his hand and you've been HERE THIS WHOLE TIME!?"

"Broke his hand...?" Conrad asked, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

"Why didn't you answer my messages!?"

"I couldn't..." Conrad said, fighting hard to look the boy in the eye.

"Why didn't you come back to my house!?"

"I'm sorry, Yuuri-"

"You're such a jerk!" Yuuri finished with a frustrated sob. "I was so worried! D-did Shouri hurt you...?"

Conrad was stunned. Yuuri was crying tears of frustrated anger, yet he was asking about his well-being.

"N-no... Yuuri, I didn't know Shouri broke his hand."

"What...?"

Conrad shook his head. "We went for a walk to talk things out, but it ended badly. Shouri wanted to fight me but I promised your mother I wouldn't, so I ran away instead. I was going back to my hotel room but I... changed my mind and ended up here."

Yuuri was quiet for several moments as he tried to reel in his emotions. He let go of Conrad's shirt to rub his bleary eyes.

He wasn't crying...! It was just the rain...

"Yuuri... I'm sorry I didn't answer your messages. I see now you were very worried and it was wrong of me to worry you in such a way."

"Just stop..." Yuuri said between shaky breaths. "I thought Shouri hurt you or you got lost or worse..."

"I'm alright." Conrad reassured him. "Perhaps we should head inside, where it's dry..."

Yuuri stared off into the distance past Conrad's drenched form at the illuminated hospital. Although it's glow looked welcoming, it also seemed stifling. Yuuri knew his brother was there, not to mention Ken and Jose.

He had so many questions for his Godfather and didn't feel like he could ask a single one if they weren't alone.

"No, I need to ask you something- right now- or else I don't think I'll ever be able to." Yuuri grit out, looking up at Conrad's concerned face. "I've been thinking a lot these past few days and... if I'm wrong please don't hate me but..."

"I could never hate you." Conrad interjected, placing a hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "Yuuri. I know you have something very important to tell me, and I want to hear it, but may I please say something first? It needs to be said."

Yuuri trembled from a combination of the weather and fear. Fear that whatever Conrad had to say would clarify exactly the way the man felt about him- of a friend and nothing more.

"I was going to tell you this in Akihabara, but we were interrupted... I hope this doesn't damage our friendship, because I value our connection very deeply, but... we've been growing very close recently and I can not deny that I hold romantic feelings for you."

Yuuri felt like his mind and heart had stopped working simultaneously, yet Conrad continued on.

"I don't know when I started feeling this way, but it's undeniable to me now. I was worried, however, that you held feelings for Wolfram and I truly didn't want to interfere with your relationship. Wolfram and I have just recently started seeing eye-to-eye and I didn't want to do anything to set back our progress. However, I can not ignore the way I feel. Please tell me if I'm wrong but I noticed lately that you and Wolfram have been growing apart and you and I have been growing close... Yuuri, are you alright?"

Yuuri opened his mouth but he couldn't speak- the exact words he'd wanted to tell Conrad had come tumbling out of the other man's mouth instead. Not only that, but Conrad said it ten thousand times better, with more grace, ease and patience than Yuuri could ever have managed.

Conrad truly felt that way about him? He hadn't been losing his mind or imagining the pleasant tension building between them?

Conrad LIKED him? Like truly... _really?_

"Yuuri- you look pale..." Conrad said, worry evident in his voice.

However, there was more than just worry on Conrad's face- the look in the man's eye was the same resigned, hopeless stare Yuuri had seen during the fighters tournament and in the woods in Francia.

Conrad had taken the leap so Yuuri wouldn't have to.

He'd fearlessly laid his heart out on the chopping block, even with the knowledge that it could be severed beyond repair.

With relief pulsing through his veins, Yuuri simply couldn't wait another second as urgency rushed over him, causing him to reach up and grab the back of Conrad's neck, dragging him down so they could kiss.

It was so abrupt that Conrad gasped, dropping the umbrella so he could hold onto Yuuri's arm for balance.

Minutes or days passed, Yuuri couldn't tell before they both separated and Yuuri smiled, brighter than the sun.

"I really, really, reaaaaallly wanted to tell you how much I liked you but damn it- you beat me to it. You always make it so easy for me, don't you?"

"I'm sorry-" Conrad breathed but Yuuri quickly kissed him once more.

"Stop apologizing! It's a bad habit..."

"I was so afraid..." Conrad whispered, looking pained. "That I was misreading everything."

"You were afraid?" he laughed. "You have a really good poker face I couldn't tell you were afraid at all, you looked fearless."

Just then, Yuuri's phone vibrated in his pocket, causing him to squawk in surprise, making Conrad release a shaky chuckle as he stepped back so Yuuri could fish it out.

 _"Oh?"_

"Your egg... is it hatching?" Conrad asked, in a daze as they both watched the Pokemon egg hatch on the screen.

Yuuri's sudden laughter made Conrad flinch in surprise as the boy wrapped his arms around the taller man, squeezing him so tightly Conrad thought he would break.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to see Yuuri's face which was buried in the man's shirt.

"It's a Luvdisc." Yuuri said with a disbelieving voice. "Of all the Pokemon, a Luvdisc..."

"Luvdisc?"

Yuuri didn't have to explain, as soon as he showed Conrad his screen the man understood.

The Pokemon was in the shape of a heart.

* * *

 _"So long as my boys are happy and you're happy, I think we can handle whatever comes our way."_

Shouma said with a smile, squeezing his wife's hand.

They shared a moment, looking into each other's eyes before Jennifer's gaze drifted over Shouma's shoulder.

"We're close to the hospital." she pointed out. "Would you like to check on Shou-chan before we continue looking?"

However, Shouma didn't respond- he was staring intently out the windshield at the park with a very serious expression on his face.

"Honey?" she asked, peering outside to see what he was looking at.

"No need, I think we might have just found him..."

Jennifer gasped as she noticed two figures standing a few hundred feet away, only half illuminated by the light of a lamppost.

"Yuu-chan!" she gasped. "That's Yuu-chan, isn't it? Are they-?"

"It's too dark to tell, but that man- look at how tall he is. I think that's Conrart."

As soon as the figures pulled apart one of them pulled out a phone. The illumination from the screen lit the men's faces and their identities were confirmed- it was indeed their son and Conrart Weller.

Jennifer squealed so loud and so suddenly it made Shouma jump in his seat.

"Oh! They were kissing! Shouma!" she cried, "Shou~ma!" she laughed, excitedly slapping her husband's arm. "My Yuu-chan's first kiss!"

Shouma sighed and shook his head. _'What are the odds?'_ he thought to himself as he put the car into gear. _'There's no avoiding it now.'_

* * *

In the radiology department, Shouri sighed as Jose gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"He doesn't hate you." Jose said, looking away so Shouri could regain his composure. "But if you keep trying to decide his life for him, he's going to push you away."

"I'm n-not..." Shouri hissed. "I just want to save him from pain-"

"Okay, Lord Weller is a mess, I'll agree." Jose laughed, "But that man would rather cut his own foot off than harm a hair on your little brother's head."

"Not physical pain." he snapped. "I can't believe my innocent Yuu-chan l-loves that man! Of all people! Why? Why does it have to be a guy? If he's gay why couldn't it have been that blonde kid!? Even he would be a better choice than that bastard...!"

"May I ask why exactly you hate Lord Weller so much? I'm starting to think it's for reasons outside of Yuuri's infatuation with him..."

"You don't hate him?" Shouri groaned. "He's so- irritating!"

"What's so irritating about him?" Jose asked. "I'm not mocking you, I'm genuinely curious. I found some things irritating about him when we first met and your father certainly had his gripes."

This took Shouri a moment.

Why did Conrart have such a strong hold over him? Bob had warned him that without knowing the reasons behind his emotions he would fall prey to them.

Why did he hate Conrart Weller?

Well... besides the fact that he was so damn perfect, he simply hated how much attention the man got from his mother and especially Yuuri. From the moment he'd entered their lives, Yuuri and his mother ADORED him.

Perhaps he was jealous.

Shouri was not about to admit that to Jose, though.

"It doesn't matter." he grumbled pathetically. "I'm going to lose my little brother to that stupid man- I can already feel it."

"Hey now," Jose chided. "Yuuri Shibuya only has one big brother in the whole world. No one can take your place, Shouri."

"I'm not sure that's true..."

Before Jose could reply, the pretty nurse from before entered the room with supplies to put a cast on Shouri's arm. Jose excused himself from the room to give Shouri space while he went looking for Ken.

"Are the pain killers working?" The girl asked Shouri as he sat in front of him and gently prodded his hand.

"Y-yes... thanks."

"It's no problem. Did you break your hand because of a girlfriend?"

"Eh?" Shouri looked surprised, then embarrassed as he looked away. "N-no, I don't have a girlfriend."

The girl looked surprised before smiling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable... I'm going to put your arm in a cast, then you'll be free to go."

The process took some time, but Shouri was distracted by the nurse's small talk and easy-going humor. When she was finished, Shouri inspected his new cast as the nurse handed him a pen.

"Usually when people get casts they have their friends and family sign it." she smiled. "Do you mind if I sign it?"

"You want to?" he asked and she looked away, embarrassed. "Er... I mean... I don't mind." Shouri finished lamely, holding his wrist out so she could sign it.

Out of embarrassment he adverted his gaze out the window.

"Heyo~!" Ken sang as he burst into the room. "Your parents are here!"

"Shou-chan!" Jennifer cried, pushing past Ken and rushing to Shouri's side to wrap him in a bone-crushing embrace.

"Should you need anything else, please let us know. You can pick up your receipt and prescription at the counter." the nurse bowed as she turned to leave. "I do hope for your speedy recovery."

"T-thank you..."

With that, she was gone.

"She was cute." Shouma chuckled, patting his son's shoulder.

"Hn... Where's Yuu-chan?"

"He's taking a walk!" Ken interjected, giving Shouma and Jennifer a knowing smile. "Jose, why don't we go get him and we'll all meet you back at the house?"

"Sounds good to me." Shouma sighed. "I can't wait to get home. I'm really beat."

Shouri felt this was a little odd, but decided he and Yuuri needed some space before they attempted talking again. Not to mention the pain killers were making him incredibly drowsy. So he allowed his parents to lead him through the hospital and to the car.

The trip home was a blur and before he knew it he was climbing into bed, exhausted physically and emotionally from the day.

Laying in the dark in his room, Shouri inspected his cast in the dim moonlight streaming in through his window.

"It was stupid, punching that headstone..." he scolded himself wearily.

He was just about to nod off when he noticed the writing.

 _"Sorry you broke your wrist! Get better soon! - Akari"_

Shouri's eyes snapped open wide as he rotated his arm and noticed a phone number directly beneath her name.

"That nurse... S-she gave me her phone number...?"

* * *

I swear to Shinou I'm going to finish this stupid fic lmao There's honestly only 2 chapters left, it's all romance and wrapping up loose ends from here. Chapter 16 is starting off kinda steamy LOL so hopefully you guys will forgive my awful smut writing. Thank you for seeing this through to the end! I am the queen of starting and never ending these damn things. ffffffff

Special thanks to IreneHime for your review on Chapter 14, I'm glad you're enjoying it!


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